Enhanced hAT Family Transposon-Mediated Gene Transfer and Associated Compositions, Systems, and Methods

ABSTRACT

This disclosure provides various TcBuster transposases and transposons, systems, and methods of use.

CROSS-REFERENCE

This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/844,363, filed Dec. 15, 2017, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/435,522, filed Dec. 16, 2016, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

SEQUENCE LISTING

The instant application contains a Sequence Listing which has been submitted electronically in ASCII format and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Said ASCII copy, created on Mar. 2, 2018, is named 52741-702_201_SL.txt and is 89,774 bytes in size.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Transposable genetic elements, also called transposons, are segments of DNA that can be mobilized from one genomic location to another within a single cell. Transposons can be divided into two major groups according to their mechanism of transposition: transposition can occur (1) via reverse transcription of an RNA intermediate for elements termed retrotransposons, and (2) via direct transposition of DNA flanked by terminal inverted repeats (TIRs) for DNA transposons. Active transposons encode one or more proteins that are required for transposition. The natural active DNA transposons harbor a transposase enzyme gene.

DNA transposons in the hAT family are widespread in plants and animals. A number of active hAT transposon systems have been identified and found to be functional, including but not limited to, the Hermes transposon, Ac transposon, hobo transposon, and the Tol2 transposon. The hAT family is composed of two families that have been classified as the AC subfamily and the Buster subfamily, based on the primary sequence of their transposases. Members of the hAT family belong to Class II transposable elements. Class II mobile elements use a cut and paste mechanism of transposition. hAT elements share similar transposases, short terminal inverted repeats, and an eight base-pairs duplication of genomic target.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One aspect of the present disclosure provides a mutant TcBuster transposase, comprising an amino acid sequence at least 70% identical to full-length SEQ ID NO: 1 and having one or more amino acid substitutions that increase a net charge at a neutral pH in comparison to SEQ ID NO: 1. In some embodiments, the mutant TcBuster transposase has increased transposition efficiency in comparison to a wild-type TcBuster transposase having amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO: 1.

Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a mutant TcBuster transposase, comprising an amino acid sequence at least 70% identical to full-length SEQ ID NO: 1 and having one more amino acid substitutions in a DNA Binding and Oligomerization domain; an insertion domain; a Zn-BED domain; or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the mutant TcBuster transposase has increased transposition efficiency in comparison to a wild-type TcBuster transposase having amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO: 1.

Yet another aspect of the present disclosure provides a mutant TcBuster transposase comprising an amino acid sequence at least 70% identical to full-length SEQ ID NO: 1 and having one or more amino acid substitutions from Table 1.

In some embodiments, a mutant TcBuster transposase comprises one or more amino acid substitutions that increase a net charge at a neutral pH within or in proximity to a catalytic domain in comparison to SEQ ID NO: 1. In some embodiments, the mutant TcBuster transposase comprises one or more amino acid substitutions that increase a net charge at a neutral pH in comparison to SEQ ID NO: 1, and the one or more amino acids are located in proximity to D223, D289, or E589, when numbered in accordance to SEQ ID NO: 1. In some embodiments, the proximity is a distance of about 80, 75, 70, 60, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, or 5 amino acids. In some embodiments, the proximity is a distance of about 70 to 80 amino acids.

In some embodiments, the amino acid sequence of the mutant TcBuster transposase is at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identical to full-length SEQ ID NO: 1.

In some embodiments, the one or more amino acid substitutions comprise a substitution to a lysine or an arginine. In some embodiments, the one or more amino acid substitutions comprise a substitution of an aspartic acid or a glutamic acid to a neutral amino acid, a lysine or an arginine. In some embodiments, the mutant TcBuster transposase comprises one or more amino acid substitutions from Table 4. In some embodiments, the mutant TcBuster transposase comprises one or more amino acid substitutions from Table 2. In some embodiments, the mutant TcBuster transposase comprises one or more amino acid substitutions from Table 3. In some embodiments, the mutant TcBuster transposase comprises amino acid substitutions V377T, E469K, and D189A, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO: 1. In some embodiments, the mutant TcBuster transposase comprises amino acid substitutions K573E and E578L, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO: 1. In some embodiments, the mutant TcBuster transposase comprises amino acid substitution I452K, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO: 1. In some embodiments, the mutant TcBuster transposase comprises amino acid substitution A358K, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO: 1. In some embodiments, the mutant TcBuster transposase comprises amino acid substitution V297K, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO: 1. In some embodiments, the mutant TcBuster transposase comprises amino acid substitution N85S, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO: 1. In some embodiments, the mutant TcBuster transposase comprises amino acid substitutions I452F, V377T, E469K, and D189A, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO: 1. In some embodiments, the mutant TcBuster transposase comprises amino acid substitutions A358K, V377T, E469K, and D189A, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO: 1. In some embodiments, the mutant TcBuster transposase comprises amino acid substitutions V377T, E469K, D189A, K573E and E578L, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO: 1.

In some embodiments, the transposition efficiency is measured by an assay that comprises introducing the mutant TcBuster transposase and a TcBuster transposon containing a reporter cargo cassette into a population of cells, and detecting transposition of the reporter cargo cassette in genome of the population of cells.

Yet another aspect of the present disclosure provides a fusion transposase comprising a TcBuster transposase sequence and a DNA sequence specific binding domain. In some embodiments, the TcBuster transposase sequence has at least 70% identity to full-length SEQ ID NO: 1.

In some embodiments, the DNA sequence specific binding domain comprises a TALE domain, zinc finger domain, AAV Rep DNA-binding domain, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the DNA sequence specific binding domain comprises a TALE domain.

In some embodiments, the TcBuster transposase sequence has at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identity to full-length SEQ ID NO: 1. In some embodiments, the TcBuster transposase sequence comprises one or more amino acid substitutions that increase a net charge at a neutral pH in comparison to SEQ ID NO: 1. In some embodiments, the TcBuster transposase sequence comprises one or more amino acid substitutions in a DNA Binding and Oligomerization domain; an insertion domain; a Zn-BED domain; or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the TcBuster transposase sequence comprises one or more amino acid substitutions from Table 1. In some embodiments, the TcBuster transposase sequence has increased transposition efficiency in comparison to a wild-type TcBuster transposase having amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO: 1. In some embodiments, the TcBuster transposase sequence comprises one or more amino acid substitutions that increase a net charge at a neutral pH within or in proximity to a catalytic domain in comparison to SEQ ID NO: 1. In some embodiments, the TcBuster transposase sequence comprises one or more amino acid substitutions that increase a net charge at a neutral pH in comparison to SEQ ID NO: 1, and the one or more amino acid substitutions are located in proximity to D223, D289, or E589, when numbered in accordance to SEQ ID NO: 1. In some embodiments, the proximity is a distance of about 80, 75, 70, 60, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, or 5 amino acids. In some embodiments, the proximity is a distance of about 70 to 80 amino acids. In some embodiments, the TcBuster transposase sequence comprises one or more amino acid substitutions from Table 2. In some embodiments, the TcBuster transposase sequence comprises one or more amino acid substitutions from Table 3. In some embodiments, the TcBuster transposase sequence comprises amino acid substitutions V377T, E469K, and D189A, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO: 1. In some embodiments, the TcBuster transposase sequence comprises amino acid substitutions K573E and E578L, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO: 1. In some embodiments, the TcBuster transposase sequence comprises amino acid substitution I452K, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO: 1. In some embodiments, the TcBuster transposase sequence comprises amino acid substitution A358K, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO: 1. In some embodiments, the TcBuster transposase sequence comprises amino acid substitution V297K, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO: 1. In some embodiments, the TcBuster transposase sequence comprises amino acid substitution N85S, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO: 1. In some embodiments, the TcBuster transposase sequence comprises amino acid substitutions I452F, V377T, E469K, and D189A, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO: 1. In some embodiments, the TcBuster transposase sequence comprises amino acid substitutions A358K, V377T, E469K, and D189A, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO: 1. In some embodiments, the TcBuster transposase sequence comprises amino acid substitutions V377T, E469K, D189A, K573E and E578L, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO: 1. In some embodiments, the TcBuster transposase sequence has 100% identity to full-length SEQ ID NO: 1.

In some embodiments of a fusion transposase, the TcBuster transposase sequence and the DNA sequence specific binding domain are separated by a linker. In some embodiments, the linker comprises at least 3, at least 4, at least 5, at least 6, at least 7, at least 8, at least 9, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, or at least 50 amino acids. In some embodiments, the linker comprises SEQ ID NO: 9.

Yet another aspect of the present disclosure provides a polynucleotide that codes for the mutant TcBuster transposase as described herein.

Yet another aspect of the present disclosure provides a polynucleotide that codes for the fusion transposase as described herein.

In some embodiments, the polynucleotide comprises DNA that encodes the mutant TcBuster transposase or the fusion transposase. In some embodiments, the polynucleotide comprises messenger RNA (mRNA) that encodes the mutant TcBuster transposase or the fusion transposase. In some embodiments, the mRNA is chemically modified. In some embodiments, the polynucleotide comprises nucleic acid sequence encoding for a transposon recognizable by the mutant TcBuster transposase or the fusion transposase. In some embodiments, the polynucleotide is present in a DNA vector. In some embodiments, the DNA vector comprises a mini-circle plasmid.

Yet another aspect of the present disclosure provides a cell producing the mutant TcBuster transposase or fusion transposase as described herein. Yet another aspect of the present disclosure provides a cell containing the polynucleotide as described herein.

Yet another aspect of the present disclosure provides a method comprising: introducing into a cell the mutant TcBuster transposase as described herein and a transposon recognizable by the mutant TcBuster transposase.

Yet another aspect of the present disclosure provides a method comprising: introducing into a cell the fusion transposase as described herein and a transposon recognizable by the fusion transposase.

In some embodiments of a method, the introducing comprises contacting the cell with a polynucleotide encoding the mutant TcBuster transposase or the fusion transposase. In some embodiments, the polynucleotide comprises DNA that encodes the mutant TcBuster transposase or the fusion transposase. In some embodiments, the polynucleotide comprises messenger RNA (mRNA) that encodes the mutant TcBuster transposase or the fusion transposase. In some embodiments, the mRNA is chemically modified.

In some embodiments of a method, the introducing comprises contacting the cell with a DNA vector that contains the transposon. In some embodiments, the DNA vector comprises a mini-circle plasmid. In some embodiments, the introducing comprises contacting the cell with a plasmid vector that contains both the transposon and the polynucleotide encoding the mutant TcBuster transposase or the fusion transposase. In some embodiments, the introducing comprises contacting the cell with the mutant TcBuster transposase or the fusion transposase as a purified protein.

In some embodiments of a method, the transposon comprises a cargo cassette positioned between two inverted repeats. In some embodiments, a left inverted repeat of the two inverted repeats comprises a sequence having at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identity to SEQ ID NO: 3. In some embodiments, a left inverted repeat of the two inverted repeats comprises SEQ ID NO: 3. In some embodiments, a right inverted repeat of the two inverted repeats comprises a sequence having at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identity to SEQ ID NO: 4. In some embodiments, a right inverted repeat of the two inverted repeats comprises SEQ ID NO: 4. In some embodiments, a left inverted repeat of the two inverted repeats comprises a sequence having at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identity to SEQ ID NO: 5. In some embodiments, a left inverted repeat of the two inverted repeats comprises SEQ ID NO: 5. In some embodiments, a right inverted repeat of the two inverted repeats comprises a sequence having at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identity to SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, a right inverted repeat of the two inverted repeats comprises SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the cargo cassette comprises a promoter selected from the group consisting of: CMV, EFS, MND, EF1α, CAGCs, PGK, UBC, U6, H1, and Cumate. In some embodiments, the cargo cassette comprises a CMV promoter. In some embodiments, the cargo cassette is present in a forward direction. In some embodiments, the cargo cassette is present in a reverse direction. In some embodiments, the cargo cassette comprises a transgene. In some embodiments, the transgene codes for a protein selected from the group consisting of: a cellular receptor, an immunological checkpoint protein, a cytokine, and any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the transgene codes for a cellular receptor selected from the group consisting of: a T cell receptor (TCR), a B cell receptor (BCR), a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR), or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the introducing comprises transfecting the cell with the aid of electroporation, microinjection, calcium phosphate precipitation, cationic polymers, dendrimers, liposome, microprojectile bombardment, fugene, direct sonic loading, cell squeezing, optical transfection, protoplast fusion, impalefection, magnetofection, nucleofection, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the introducing comprises electroporating the cell.

In some embodiments of a method, the cell is a primary cell isolated from a subject. In some embodiments, the subject is a human. In some embodiments, the subject is a patient with a disease. In some embodiments, the subject has been diagnosed with cancer or tumor. In some embodiments, the cell is isolated from blood of the subject. In some embodiments, the cell comprises a primary immune cell. In some embodiments, the cell comprises a primary leukocyte. In some embodiments, the cell comprises a primary T cell. In some embodiments, the primary T cell comprises a gamma delta T cell, a helper T cell, a memory T cell, a natural killer T cell, an effector T cell, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the primary immune cell comprises a CD3+ cell. In some embodiments, the cell comprises a stem cell. In some embodiments, the stem cell is selected from the group consisting of: embryonic stem cell, hematopoietic stem cell, epidermal stem cell, epithelial stem cell, bronchoalveolar stem cell, mammary stem cell, mesenchymal stem cell, intestine stem cell, endothelial stem cell, neural stem cell, olfactory adult stem cell, neural crest stem cell, testicular cell, and any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the stem cell comprises induced pluripotent stem cell.

Yet another aspect of the present disclosure provides a method of treatment, comprising: (a) introducing into a cell a transposon and the mutant TcBuster transposase or the fusion transposase as described herein, which recognize the transposon, thereby generating a genetically modified cell; (b) administering the genetically modified cell to a patient in need of the treatment. In some embodiments, the genetically modified cell comprises a transgene introduced by the transposon. In some embodiments, the patient has been diagnosed with cancer or tumor. In some embodiments, the administering comprises transfusing the genetically modified cell into blood vessels of the patient.

Yet another aspect of the present disclosure provides a system for genome editing, comprising: the mutant TcBuster transposase or fusion transposase as described herein, and a transposon recognizable by the mutant TcBuster transposase or the fusion transposase.

Yet another aspect of the present disclosure provides a system for genome editing, comprising: the polynucleotide encoding a mutant TcBuster transposase or fusion transposase as described herein, and a transposon recognizable by the mutant TcBuster transposase or the fusion transposase.

In some embodiments of a system, the polynucleotide comprises DNA that encodes the mutant TcBuster transposase or the fusion transposase. In some embodiments, the polynucleotide comprises messenger RNA (mRNA) that encodes the mutant TcBuster transposase or the fusion transposase. In some embodiments, the mRNA is chemically modified. In some embodiments, the transposon is present in a DNA vector. In some embodiments, the DNA vector comprises a mini-circle plasmid. In some embodiments, the polynucleotide and the transposon are present in a same plasmid. In some embodiments, the transposon comprises a cargo cassette positioned between two inverted repeats. In some embodiments, a left inverted repeat of the two inverted repeats comprises a sequence having at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identity to SEQ ID NO: 3. In some embodiments, a left inverted repeat of the two inverted repeats comprises SEQ ID NO: 3. In some embodiments, a right inverted repeat of the two inverted repeats comprises a sequence having at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identity to SEQ ID NO: 4. In some embodiments, a right inverted repeat of the two inverted repeats comprises SEQ ID NO: 4. In some embodiments, a left inverted repeat of the two inverted repeats comprises a sequence having at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identity to SEQ ID NO: 5. In some embodiments, a left inverted repeat of the two inverted repeats comprises SEQ ID NO: 5. In some embodiments, a right inverted repeat of the two inverted repeats comprises a sequence having at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, or at least 99% identity to SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, a right inverted repeat of the two inverted repeats comprises SEQ ID NO: 6. In some embodiments, the cargo cassette comprises a promoter selected from the group consisting of: CMV, EFS, MND, EF1α, CAGCs, PGK, UBC, U6, H1, and Cumate. In some embodiments, the cargo cassette comprises a CMV promoter. In some embodiments, the cargo cassette comprises a transgene. In some embodiments, the transgene codes for a protein selected from the group consisting of: a cellular receptor, an immunological checkpoint protein, a cytokine, and any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the transgene codes for a cellular receptor selected from the group consisting of: a T cell receptor (TCR), a B cell receptor (BCR), a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR), or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the cargo cassette is present in a forward direction. In some embodiments, the cargo cassette is present in a reverse direction.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

All publications, patents, and patent applications mentioned in this specification are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication, patent, or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. To the extent that a term incorporated by reference conflicts with a term defined herein, this specification controls.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The novel features of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. A better understanding of the features and advantages of the present invention will be obtained by reference to the following detailed description that sets forth illustrative embodiments, in which the principles of the invention are utilized, and the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 shows the transposition efficiency of several exemplary TcBuster transposon vector constructs, as measured by percent of mCherry positive cells in cells that were transfected with wild-type (WT) TcBuster transposase and the exemplary TcBuster transposons.

FIG. 2 shows nucleotide sequence comparison of exemplary TcBuster IR/DR sequence 1 (SEQ ID NOS 3-4, respectively in order of appearance) and sequence 2 (SEQ ID NOS 5-6, respectively in order of appearance).

FIG. 3A shows representative bright-field and fluorescent images of HEK-293T cells 2 weeks after transfection with exemplary TcBuster transposon Tn-8 (containing puro-mCherry cassette; illustrated in FIG. 1) and WT TcBuster transposase or V596A mutant transposase (containing V596A substitution). The transfected cells were plated in 6-well plate with 1 μg/mL puromycin 2 days posttransfection, and were fixed and stained 2 weeks posttransfection with crystal violet for colony quantification. FIG. 3B shows representative pictures of the transfected cell colonies in 6-well plate 2 weeks posttransfection. FIG. 3C is a graph showing the quantification of colonies per each transfection condition 2 weeks posttransfection.

FIG. 4 depicts the amino acid sequence alignment of TcBuster transposase versus a number of transposases in AC subfamily, with only regions of amino acid conservation being shown (SEQ ID NOS 89-194, respectively in order of appearance).

FIG. 5 depicts the amino acid sequence alignment of TcBuster transposase versus a number of other transposase members in Buster subfamily (SEQ ID NOS 195-203, respectively in order of appearance). Certain exemplary amino acid substitutions are indicated above the protein sequences, along with the percentage shown on top of the alignment is the percentage of other Buster subfamily members that contain the amino acid that is contemplated being substituted into the TcBuster sequence, and the percentage shown below is the percentage of other Buster subfamily members that contain the canonical TcBuster amino acid at that position.

FIG. 6 shows a vector map of an exemplary expression vector pcDNA-DEST40 that was used to test TcBuster transposase mutants.

FIG. 7 is a graph quantifying the transposition efficiency of exemplary TcBuster transposase mutants, as measured by percent of mCherry positive cells in HEK-293T cells that were transfected with TcBuster transposon Tn-8 (illustrated in FIG. 1) with the exemplary transposase mutants.

FIG. 8 depicts one exemplary fusion transposase that contains a DNA sequence specific binding domain and a TcBuster transposase sequence joined by an optional linker.

FIG. 9 is a graph quantifying the transposition efficiency of exemplary TcBuster transposases containing different tags as measured by percent of mCherry positive cells in HEK-293T cells that were transfected with TcBuster transposon Tn-8 (illustrated in FIG. 1) with the exemplary transposases containing the tags.

FIG. 10A is a graph quantifying the transposition efficiency of exemplary TcBuster transposition systems in human CD3+ T cells as measured by percent of GFP positive cells. FIG. 10B is a graph quantifying viability of the transfected T cells 2 and 7 days post-transfection by flow cytometry. Data is relative to pulse control.

FIG. 11 shows amino acid sequence of wild-type TcBuster transposase with certain amino acids annotated (SEQ ID NO: 1).

FIG. 12 shows amino acid sequence of mutant TcBuster transposase containing amino acid substitutions D189A/V377T/E469K (SEQ ID NO: 78).

FIG. 13 shows amino acid sequence of mutant TcBuster transposase containing amino acid substitutions D189A/V377T/E469K/I452K(SEQ ID NO: 79).

FIG. 14 shows amino acid sequence of mutant TcBuster transposase containing amino acid substitutions D189A/V377T/E469K/N85S (SEQ ID NO: 80).

FIG. 15 shows amino acid sequence of mutant TcBuster transposase containing amino acid substitutions D189A/V377T/E469K/A358K (SEQ ID NO: 81).

FIG. 16 shows amino acid sequence of mutant TcBuster transposase containing amino acid substitutions D189A/V377T/E469K/K573E/E578L (SEQ ID NO: 13).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Overview

DNA transposons can translocate via a non-replicative, ‘cut-and-paste’ mechanism. This requires recognition of the two terminal inverted repeats by a catalytic enzyme, i.e. transposase, which can cleave its target and consequently release the DNA transposon from its donor template. Upon excision, the DNA transposons may subsequently integrate into the acceptor DNA that is cleaved by the same transposase. In some of their natural configurations, DNA transposons are flanked by two inverted repeats and may contain a gene encoding a transposase that catalyzes transposition.

For genome editing applications with DNA transposons, it is desirable to design a transposon to develop a binary system based on two distinct plasmids whereby the transposase is physically separated from the transposon DNA containing the gene of interest flanked by the inverted repeats. Co-delivery of the transposon and transposase plasmids into the target cells enables transposition via a conventional cut-and-paste mechanism.

TcBuster is a member of the hAT family of DNA transposons. Other members of the family include Sleeping Beauty and PiggBac. Discussed herein are various devices, systems and methods relating to synergistic approaches to enhance gene transfer into human hematopoietic and immune system cells using hAT family transposon components. The present disclosure relates to improved hAT transposases, transposon vector sequences, transposase delivery methods, and transposon delivery methods. In one implementation, the present study identified specific, universal sites for making hyperactive hAT transposases. In another implementation, methods for making minimally sized hAT transposon vector inverted terminal repeats (ITRs) that conserve genomic space are described. In another implementation, improved methods to deliver hAT family transposases as chemically modified in vitro transcribed mRNAs are described. In another implementation, methods to deliver hAT family transposon vectors as “miniature” circles of DNA are described, in which virtually all prokaryotic sequences have been removed by a recombination method. In another implementation, methods to fuse DNA sequence specific binding domains using transcription activator-like (TAL) domains fused to the hAT transposases are described. These improvements, individually or in combination, can yield unexpectedly high levels of gene transfer to the cell types in question and improvements in the delivery of transposon vectors to sequences of interest.

Mutant TcBuster Transposase

One aspect of the present disclosure provides a mutant TcBuster transposase. A mutant TcBuster transposase may comprise one or more amino acid substitutions in comparison to a wild-type TcBuster transposase (SEQ ID NO: 1).

A mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise an amino acid sequence having at least 70% sequence identity to full length sequence of a wild-type TcBuster transposase (SEQ ID NO: 1). In some embodiments, a mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise an amino acid sequence having at least 40%, at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 96%, at least 97%, at least 98%, or at least 99% sequence identity to full length sequence of a wild-type TcBuster transposase (SEQ ID NO: 1). In some cases, a mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise an amino acid sequence having at least 98%, at least 98.5%, at least 99%, at least 99.1%, at least 99.2%, at least 99.3%, at least 99.4%, at least 99.5%, at least 99.6%, at least 99.7%, at least 99.8%, at least 99.9%, or at least 99.95% sequence identity to full length sequence of a wild-type TcBuster transposase (SEQ ID NO: 1).

A mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise an amino acid sequence having at least one amino acid different from full length sequence of a wild-type TcBuster transposase (SEQ ID NO: 1). In some embodiments, a mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise an amino acid sequence having at least 2, at least 3, at least 4, at least 5, at least 6, at least 7, at least 8, at least 9, at least 10, or more amino acids different from full length sequence of a wild-type TcBuster transposase (SEQ ID NO: 1). In some cases, a mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise an amino acid sequence having at least 5, at least 10, at least 20, at least 30, at least 40, at least 50, at least 60, at least 70, at least 80, at least 90, at least 100, at least 200, or at least 300 amino acid different from full length sequence of a wild-type TcBuster transposase (SEQ ID NO: 1). In some cases, a mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise an amino acid sequence having at most 3, at most 6, at most 12, at most 25, at most 35, at most 45, at most 55, at most 65, at most 75, at most 85, at most 95, at most 150, at most 250, or at most 350 amino acid different from full length sequence of a wild-type TcBuster transposase (SEQ ID NO: 1).

As shown in FIG. 4, typically, a wild-type TcBuster transposase can be regarded as comprising, from N terminus to C terminus, a ZnF-BED domain (amino acids 76-98), a DNA Binding and Oligomerization domain (amino acids 112-213), a first Catalytic domain (amino acids 213-312), an Insertion domain (amino acids 312-543), and a second Catalytic domain (amino acids 583-620), as well as at least four inter-domain regions in between these annotated domains. Unless indicated otherwise, numerical references to amino acids, as used herein, are all in accordance to SEQ ID NO: 1. A mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise one or more amino acid substitutions in any one of these domains, or any combination thereof. In some cases, a mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise one or more amino acid substitutions in ZnF-BED domain, a DNA Binding and Oligomerization domain, a first Catalytic domain, an Insertion domain, or a combination thereof. A mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise one or more amino acid substitutions in at least one of the two catalytic domains.

An exemplary mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise one or more amino acid substitutions from Table 1. Sometimes, a mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise at least one of the amino acid substitutions from Table 1. A mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise at least 2, at least 3, at least 4, at least 5, at least 6, at least 7, at least 8, at least 9, at least 10, at least 20, at least 30, or more of the amino acid substitutions from Table 1.

TABLE 1 Amino Acid of Wild-type TcBuster Transposase (SEQ ID NO: 1) Amino Acid Substitution Q82 Q82E N85 N85S D99 D99A D132 D132A Q151 Q151S Q151 Q151A E153 E153K E153 E153R A154 A154P Y155 Y155H E159 E159A T171 T171K T171 T171R K177 K177E D183 D183K D183 D183R D189 D189A T191 T191E S193 S193K S193 S193R Y201 Y201A F202 F202D F202 F202K C203 C203I C203 C203V Q221 Q221T M222 M222L I223 I223Q E224 E224G S225 S225W D227 D227A R239 R239H E243 E243A E247 E247K P257 P257K P257 P257R Q258 Q258T E263 E263A E263 E263K E263 E263R E274 E274K E274 E274R S278 S278K N281 N281E L282 L282K L282 L282R K292 K292P V297 V297K K299 K299S A303 A303T H322 H322E A332 A332S A358 A358E A358 A358K A358 A358S D376 D376A V377 V377T L380 L380N I398 I398D I398 I398S I398 I398K F400 F400L V431 V431L S447 S447E N450 N450K N450 N450R I452 I452F E469 E469K K469 K469K P510 P510D P510 P510N E517 E517R R536 R536S V553 V553S P554 P554T P559 P559D P559 P559S P559 P559K K573 K573E E578 E578L K590 K590T Y595 Y595L V596 V596A T598 T598I K599 K599A Q615 Q615A T618 T618K T618 T618K T618 T618R D622 D622K D622 D622R E5275 E5275K

An exemplary mutant TcBuster transposase comprises one or more amino acid substitutions, or combinations of substitutions, from Table 2. Sometimes, a mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise at least one of the amino acid substitutions, or combinations of substitutions, from Table 2. A mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise at least 2, at least 3, at least 4, at least 5, at least 6, at least 7, at least 8, at least 9, at least 10, at least 20, at least 30, or more of the amino acid substitutions, or combinations of substitutions, from Table 2.

TABLE 2 Amino Acid of Wild-type TcBuster Transposase (SEQ ID NO: 1) Amino Acid Substitution V377 and E469 V377T/E469K V377, E469, and R536S V377T/E469K/R536S A332 A332S V553 and P554 V553S/P554T E517 E517R K299 K299S Q615 and T618 Q615A/T618K S278 S278K A303 A303T P510 P510D P510 P510N N281 N281S N281 N281E K590 K590T E5275 E5275K Q258 Q258T E247 E247K S447 S447E N85 N85S V297 V297K A358 A358K I452 I452F V377, E469, D189 V377T/E469K/D189A K573, E578 K573E/E578L I452, V377, E469, D189 I452F/V377T/E469K/D189A A358, V377, E469, D189 A358K/V377T/E469K/D189A K573, E578, V377, E469, D189 K573E/E578L/V377T/E469K/D189A T171 T171R D183 D183R S193 S193R P257 P257K E263 E263R L282 L282K T618 T618K D622 D622R E153 E153K N450 N450K T171 T171K D183 D183K S193 S193K P257 P257R E263 E263K L282 L282R T618 T618R D622 D622K E153 E153R N450 N450R E247, E274, V297, A358 E247K/E274K/V297K/A358K

An exemplary mutant TcBuster transposase comprises one or more amino acid substitutions, or combinations of substitutions, from Table 3. Sometimes, a mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise at least one of the amino acid substitutions, or combinations of substitutions, from Table 3. A mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise at least 2, at least 3, at least 4, at least 5, at least 6, at least 7, at least 8, at least 9, at least 10, at least 20, at least 30, or more of the amino acid substitutions, or combinations of substitutions, from Table 3.

TABLE 3 Amino Acid of Wild-type TcBuster Transposase (SEQ ID NO: 1) Amino Acid Substitutions V377 and E469 V377T/E469K V377, E469, and R536S V377T/E469K/R536S A332 A332S V553 and P554 V553S/P554T E517 E517R K299 K299S Q615 and T618 Q615A/T618K S278 S278K A303 A303T P510 P510D P510 P510N N281 N281S N281 N281E K590 K590T E5275 E5275K Q258 Q258T E247 E247K S447 S447E N85 N85S V297 V297K A358 A358K I452 I452F V377, E469, D189 V377T/E469K/D189A K573, E578 K573E/E578L

Hyperactive Mutant TcBuster Transposase

Another aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a hyperactive mutant TcBuster transposase. A “hyperactive” mutant TcBuster transposase, as used herein, can refer to any mutant TcBuster transposase that has increased transposition efficiency as compared to a wild-type TcBuster transposase having amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO: 1.

In some embodiments, a hyperactive mutant TcBuster transposase may have increased transposition efficiency under certain situations as compared to a wild-type TcBuster transposase having amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO: 1. For example, the hyperactive mutant TcBuster transposase may have better transposition efficiency than the wild-type TcBuster transposase when being used to catalyze transposition of transposons having particular types of inverted repeat sequences. It is possible that with some other transposons having other types of inverted repeat sequences, the hyperactive mutant TcBuster transposase does not have increased transposition efficiency in comparison to the wild-type TcBuster transposase. In some other non-limiting examples, the hyperactive mutant TcBuster transposase may have increased transposition efficiency in comparison to a wild-type TcBuster transposase having amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO: 1, under certain transfection conditions. Without being limited, when compared to a wild-type TcBuster transposase, a hyperactive mutant TcBuster transposase may have better transposition efficiency when the temperature is higher than normal cell culture temperature; a hyperactive mutant TcBuster transposase may have better transposition efficiency in a relative acidic or basic aqueous medium; a hyperactive mutant TcBuster transposase may have better transposition efficiency when a particular type of transfection technique (e.g. electroporation) is performed.

Transposition efficiency can be measured by the percent of successful transposition events occurring in a population of host cells normalized by the amount of transposon and transposase introduced into the population of host cells. In many instances, when the transposition efficiency of two or more transposases is compared, the same transposon construct is paired with each of the two or more transposases for transfection of the host cells under same or similar transfection conditions. The amount of transposition events in the host cells can be examined by various approaches. For example, the transposon construct may be designed to contain a reporter gene positioned between the inverted repeats, and transfected cells positive for the reporter gene can be counted as the cells where successful transposition events occurs, which can give an estimate of the amount of the transposition events. Another non-limiting example includes sequencing of the host cell genome to examine the insertion of the cassette cargo of the transposon. In some embodiments, when the transposition efficiency of two or more different transposons is compared, the same transposase can be paired with each of the different transposons for transfection of the host cells under same or similar transfection conditions. Similar approaches can be utilized for the measurement of transposition efficiency. Other methods known to one skilled in the art may also be implemented for the comparison of transposition efficiency.

Also provided herein are methods of obtaining a hyperactive mutant TcBuster transposase.

One exemplary method can comprise systemically mutating amino acids of TcBuster transposase to increase a net charge of the amino acid sequence. Sometimes, the method can comprise performing systematic alanine scanning to mutate aspartic acid (D) or glutamic acid (E), which are negatively charged at a neutral pH, to alanine residues. A method can comprise performing systemic mutation to lysing (K) or arginine (R) residues, which are positively charged at a neutral pH.

Without wishing to be bound by a particular theory, increase in a net charge of the amino acid sequence at a neutral pH may increase the transposition efficiency of the TcBuster transposase. Particularly, when the net charge is increased in proximity to a catalytic domain of the transposase, the transposition efficiency is expected to increase. It can be contemplated that positively charged amino acids can form points of contact with DNA target and allow the catalytic domains to act on the DNA target. It may also be contemplated that loss of these positively charged amino acids can decrease either excision or integration activity in transposases.

FIG. 11 depicts the WT TcBuster transposase amino acid sequence, highlighting amino acids that may be points of contact with DNA. In FIG. 11, large bold lettering indicates catalytic triad amino acids; lettering with boxes indicates amino acids that when substituted to a positive charged amino acid increases transposition; italicized and lowercased lettering indicates positive charged amino acids that when substituted to a different amino acid decreases transposition; bold italicized and underlined indicates amino acids that when substituted to a positive charged amino acid increases transposition, and when substituted to a negative charged amino acid decreases transposition; underlined lettering indicates amino acids that could be positive charged amino acids based on protein sequence alignment to the Buster subfamily.

A mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise one or more amino acid substitutions that increase a net charge at a neutral pH in comparison to SEQ ID NO: 1. Sometimes, a mutant TcBuster transposase comprising one or more amino acid substitutions that increase a net charge at a neutral pH in comparison to SEQ ID NO: 1 can be hyperactive. Sometimes, the mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise one or more substitutions to a positively charged amino acid, such as, but not limited to, lysine (K) or arginine (R). A mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise one or more substitutions of a negatively charged amino acid, such as, but not limited to, aspartic acid (D) or glutamic acid (E), with a neutral amino acid, or a positively charged amino acid.

One non-limiting example includes a mutant TcBuster transposase that comprises one or more amino acid substitutions that increase a net charge at a neutral pH within or in proximity to a catalytic domain in comparison to SEQ ID NO: 1. The catalytic domain can be the first catalytic domain or the second catalytic domain. The catalytic domain can also include both catalytic domains of the transposase.

An exemplary method of the present disclosure can comprise mutating amino acids that are predicted to be in close proximity to, or to make direct contact with, the DNA. These amino acids can be substituted amino acids identified as being conserved in other member(s) of the hAT family (e.g., other members of the Buster and/or Ac subfamilies). The amino acids predicted to be in close proximity to, or to make direct contact with, the DNA can be identified, for example, by reference to a crystal structure, predicted structures, mutational analysis, functional analysis, alignment with other members of the hAT family, or any other suitable method.

Without wishing to be bound by a particular theory, TcBuster transposase, like other members of the hAT transposase family, has a DDE motif, which may be the active site that catalyzes the movement of the transposon. It is contemplated that D223, D289, and E589make up the active site, which is a triad of acidic residues. The DDE motif may coordinate divalent metal ions and can be important in the catalytic reaction. In some embodiments, a mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise one or more amino acid substitutions that increase a net charge at a neutral pH in comparison to SEQ ID NO: 1, and the one or more amino acids are located in proximity to D223, D289, or E589, when numbered in accordance to SEQ ID NO: 1.

In certain embodiments, a mutant TcBuster transposase as provided herein does not comprise any disruption of the catalytic triad, i.e. D223, D289, or E589. A mutant TcBuster transposase may not comprise any amino acid substitution at D223, D289, or E589. A mutant TcBuster transposase may comprises amino acid substitution at D223, D289, or E589, but such substitution does not disrupt the catalytic activity contributed by the catalytic triad.

In some cases, the term “proximity” can refer to a measurement of a linear distance in the primary structure of the transposase. For instance, the distance between D223 and D289 in the primary structure of a wild-type TcBuster transposase is 66 amino acids. In certain embodiments, the proximity can refer to a distance of about 70 to 80 amino acids. In many cases, the proximity can refer to a distance of about 80, 75, 70, 60, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, or 5 amino acids.

In some cases, the term “proximity” can refer to a measurement of a spatial relationship in the secondary or tertiary structure of the transposase, i.e. when the transposase folds into its three dimensional configurations. Protein secondary structure can refer to three dimensional form of local segments of proteins. Common secondary structural elements include alpha helices, beta sheets, beta turns and omega loops. Secondary structure elements may form as an intermediate before the protein folds into its three dimensional tertiary structure. Protein tertiary structure can refer to the three dimensional shape of a protein. Protein tertiary structure may exhibit dynamic configurational change under physiological or other conditions. The tertiary structure will have a single polypeptide chain “backbone” with one or more protein secondary structures, the protein domains. Amino acid side chains may interact and bond in a number of ways. The interactions and bonds of side chains within a particular protein determine its tertiary structure. In many implementations, the proximity can refer to a distance of about 1 Å, about 2 Å, about 5 Å, about 8 Å, about 10 Å, about 15 Å, about 20 Å, about 25 Å, about 30 Å, about 35 Å, about 40 Å, about 50 Å, about 60 Å, about 70 Å, about 80 Å, about 90 Å, or about 100 Å.

A neutral pH can be a pH value around 7. Sometimes, a neutral pH can be a pH value between 6.9 and 7.1, between 6.8 and 7.2, between 6.7 and 7.3, between 6.6 and 7.4, between 6.5 and 7.5, between 6.4 and 7.6, between 6.3 and 7.7, between 6.2-7.8, between 6.1-7.9, between 6.0-8.0, between 5-8, or in a range derived therefrom.

Non-limiting exemplary mutant TcBuster transposases that comprise one or more amino acid substitutions that increase a net charge at a neutral pH in comparison to SEQ ID NO: 1 include TcBuster transposases comprising at least one of the combinations of amino acid substitutions from Table 4. A mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise at least 2, at least 3, at least 4, at least 5, at least 6, at least 7, at least 8, at least 9, at least 10, at least 20, at least 30, or more of the amino acid substitutions from Table 4.

In some embodiments, a mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise one or more amino acid substitutions that increase a net charge at a non-neutral pH in comparison to SEQ ID NO: 1. In some cases, the net charge is increased within or in proximity to a catalytic domain at a non-neutral pH. In many cases, the net charge is increased in proximity to D223, D289, or E589, at a non-neutral pH. The non-neutral pH can be a pH value lower than 7, lower than 6.5, lower than 6, lower than 5.5, lower than 5, lower than 4.5, lower than 4, lower than 3.5, lower than 3, lower than 2.5, lower than 2, lower than 1.5, or lower than 1. The non-neutral pH can also be a pH value higher than 7, higher than 7.5, higher than 8, higher than 8.5, higher than 9, higher than 9.5, or higher than 10.

TABLE 4 Amino Acid of Wild-type TcBuster Transposase (SEQ ID NO: 1) Amino Acid Substitutions E247 E247K E274 E274K V297 V297K A358 A358K S278 S278K E247 E247R E274 E274R V297 V297R A358 A358R S278 S278R T171 T171R D183 D183R S193 S193R P257 P257K E263 E263R L282 L282K T618 T618K D622 D622R E153 E153K N450 N450K T171 T171K D183 D183K S193 S193K P257 P257R E263 E263K L282 L282R T618 T618R D622 D622K E153 E153R N450 N450R

In one exemplary embodiment, a method can comprise systemically mutating amino acids in the DNA Binding and Oligomerization domain. Without wishing to be bound by a particular theory, mutation in the DNA Binding and Oligomerization domain may increase the binding affinity to DNA target and promote oligomerization activity of the transposase, which consequentially may promote transposition efficiency. More specifically, the method can comprise systemically mutating amino acids one by one within or in proximity to the DNA Binding and Oligomerization domain (e.g., amino acid 112 to 213). The method can also comprise mutating more than one amino acid within or in proximity to the DNA Binding and Oligomerization domain. The method can also comprise mutating one or more amino acids within or in proximity to the DNA Binding and Oligomerization domain, together with one or more amino acids outside the DNA Binding and Oligomerization domain.

In some embodiments, the method can comprise performing rational replacement of selective amino acid residues based on multiple sequence alignments of TcBuster with other hAT family transposases (Ac, Hermes, Hobo, Tag2, Tam3, Hermes, Restless and Tol2) or with other members of Buster subfamily (e.g., AeBuster1, AeBuster2, AeBuster3, BtBuster1, BtBuster2, CfBuster1, and CfBuster2). Without being bound by a certain theory, conservancy of certain amino acids among other hAT family transposases, especially among the active ones, may indicate their importance for the catalytic activity of the transposases. Therefore, replacement of unconserved amino acids in wild-type TcBuster sequence (SEQ ID NO: 1) with conserved amino acids among other hAT family may yield hyperactive mutant TcBuster transposase. The method may comprise obtaining sequences of TcBuster as well as other hAT family transposases; aligning the sequences and identifying the amino acids in TcBuster transposase with a different conserved counterpart among the other hAT family transposases; performing site-directed mutagenesis to produce mutant TcBuster transposase harboring the mutation(s).

A hyperactive mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise one or more amino acid substitutions based on alignment to other members of Buster subfamily or other members of hAT family. In many cases, the one or more amino acid substitutions can be substitutions of conserved amino acid for the unconserved amino acid in wild-type TcBuster sequence (SEQ ID NO: 1). Non-limiting examples of mutant TcBuster transposases include TcBuster transposases comprising at least one of the amino acid substitutions from Table 5. A mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise at least 2, at least 3, at least 4, at least 5, at least 6, at least 7, at least 8, at least 9, at least 10, at least 20, at least 30, or more of the amino acid substitutions from Table 5.

Another exemplary method can comprise systemically mutating acidic amino acids to basic amino acids and identifying hyperactive mutant transposase.

In some cases, mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise amino acid substitutions V377T, E469K, and D189A. A mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise amino acid substitutions K573E and E578L. A mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise amino acid substitution I452K. A mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise amino acid substitution A358K. A mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise amino acid substitution V297K. A mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise amino acid substitution N85S. A mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise amino acid substitutions N85S, V377T, E469K, and D189A. A mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise amino acid substitutions I452F, V377T, E469K, and D189A. A mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise amino acid substitutions A358K, V377T, E469K, and D189A. A mutant TcBuster transposase can comprise amino acid substitutions V377T, E469K, D189A, K573E and E578L.

TABLE 5 Amino Acid of Wild-type TcBuster Transposase (SEQ ID NO: 1) Amino Acid Substitution Q151 Q151S Q151 Q151A A154 A154P Q615 Q615A V553 V553S Y155 Y155H Y201 Y201A F202 F202D F202 F202K C203 C203I C203 C203V F400 F400L I398 I398D I398 I398S I398 I398K V431 V431L P559 P559D P559 P559S P559 P559K M222 M222L

Fusion Transposase

Another aspect of the present invention provides a fusion transposase. The fusion transposase can comprise a TcBuster transposase sequence and a DNA sequence specific binding domain.

The TcBuster transposase sequence of a fusion transposase can comprise an amino acid sequence of any of the mutant TcBuster transposases as described herein. The TcBuster transposase sequence of a fusion transposase can also comprise an amino acid sequence of a wild-type TcBuster transposase having amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO: 1.

A DNA sequence specific binding domain as described herein can refer to a protein domain that is adapted to bind to a DNA molecule at a sequence region (“target sequence”) containing a specific sequence motif. For instance, an exemplary DNA sequence specific binding domain may selectively bind to a sequence motif TATA, while another exemplary DNA sequence specific binding domain may selectively bind to a different sequence motif ATGCNTAGAT (SEQ ID NO: 82) (N denotes any one of A, T, G, and C).

A fusion transposase as provided herein may direct sequence specific insertion of the transposon. For instance, a DNA sequence specific binding domain may guide the fusion transposase to bind to a target sequence based on the binding specificity of the binding domain. Being bound to or restricted to a certain sequence region may spatially limit the interaction between the fusion transposase and the transposon, thereby limiting the catalyzed transposition to a sequence region in proximity to the target sequence. Depending on the size, three-dimensional configuration, and sequence binding affinity of the DNA binding domain, as well as the spatial relationship between the DNA binding domain and the TcBuster transposase sequence, and the flexibility of the connection between the two domains, the distance of the actual transposition site to the target sequence may vary. Proper design of the fusion transposase configuration can direct the transposition to a desirable target genomic region.

A target genomic region for transposition can be any particular genomic region, depending on application purposes. For instance, sometimes, it is desirable to avoid transcription start sites for the transposition, which may cause undesirable, or even harmful, change in expression level of certain important endogenous gene(s) of the cell. A fusion transposase may contain a DNA sequence specific binding domain that can target the transposition to a safe harbor of the host genome. Non-limiting examples of safe harbors can include HPRT, AAVS site (e.g. AAVS1, AAVS2, ETC.), CCR5, or Rosa26. Safe harbor sites can generally refer to sites for transgene insertion whose use exert little to none disrupting effects on genome integrity of the cell or cellular health and functions.

A DNA sequence specific binding domain may be derived from, or be a variant of any DNA binding protein that has sequence-specificity. In many instances, a DNA sequence specific binding domain may comprise an amino acid sequence at least 40%, at least 50%, at least 60%, at least70%, at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, at least 99%, or 100% identical to a naturally occurring sequence-specific DNA binding protein. A DNA sequence specific binding domain may comprise an amino acid sequence at least 70% identical to a naturally occurring sequence-specific DNA binding protein. Non-limiting examples of a naturally occurring sequence-specific DNA binding protein include, but not limited to, transcription factors from various origins, specific-sequence nucleases, and viral replication proteins. A naturally occurring sequence-specific DNA binding protein can also be any other protein having the specific binding capability from various origins. Selection and prediction of DNA binding proteins can be conducted by various approaches, including, but not limited to, using computational prediction databases available online, like DP-Bind (http://lcg.rit.albany.edu/dp-bind/) or DNABIND (http://dnabind.szialab.org/)

The term “transcription factor” can refer to a protein that controls the rate of transcription of genetic information from DNA to messenger DNA, by binding to a specific DNA sequence. A transcription factor that can be used in a fusion transposase described herein can be based on a prokaryotic transcription factor or a eukaryotic transcription factor, as long as it confers sequence specificity when binding to the target DNA molecule. Transcription factor prediction databases such as DBD (http://www.transcriptionfactor.org) may be used for selection of appropriate transcription factor for application of the disclosure herein.

A DNA sequence specific binding domain as used herein can comprise one or more DNA binding domain from a naturally occurring transcription factor. Non-limiting examples of DNA binding domains of transcription factors include DNA binding domains that belong to families like basic helix-loop-helix, basic-leucine zipper (bZIP), C-terminal effector domain of the bipartite response regulators, AP2/ERF/GCC box, helix-turn-helix, homeodomain proteins, lambda repressor-like, srf-like (serum response factor), paired box, winged helix, zinc fingers, multi-domain Cys2His2 (C2H2) zinc fingers, Zn2/Cys6, or Zn2/Cys8 nuclear receptor zinc finger.

A DNA sequence specific binding domain can be an artificially engineered amino acid sequence that binds to specific DNA sequences. Non-limiting examples of such artificially designed amino acid sequence include sequences created based on frameworks like transcription activator like effector nucleases (TALEs) DNA binding domain, zinc finger nucleases, adeno associated virus (AAV) Rep protein, and any other suitable DNA binding proteins as described herein.

Natural TALEs are proteins secreted by Xanthomonas bacteria to aid the infection of plant species. Natural TALEs can assist infections by binding to specific DNA sequences and activating the expression of host genes. In general, TALE proteins consist of a central repeat domain, which determines the DNA targeting specificity and can be rapidly synthesized de novo. TALEs have a modular DNA-binding domain (DBD) containing repetitive sequences of residues. In some TALEs, each repeat region contains 34 amino acids. The term “TALE domain” as used herein can refer to the modular DBD of TALEs. A pair of residues at the 12th and 13th position of each repeat region can determine the nucleotide specificity and are referred to as the repeat variable diresidue (RVD). The last repeat region, termed the half-repeat, is typically truncated to 20 amino acids. Combining these repeat regions allows synthesizing sequence-specific synthetic TALEs. The C-terminus typically contains a nuclear localization signal (NLS), which directs a TALE to the nucleus, as well as a functional domain that modulates transcription, such as an acidic activation domain (AD). The endogenous NLS can be replaced by an organism-specific localization signal. For example, an NLS derived from the simian virus 40 large T-antigen can be used in mammalian cells. The RVDs HD, NG, NI, and NN target C, T, A, and G/A, respectively. A list of RVDs and their binding preferences under certain circumstances for nucleotides can be found in Table 6. Additional TALE RVDs can also be used for custom degenerate TALE-DNA interactions. For example, NA has high affinity for all four bases of DNA. Additionally, N*, where * is an RVD with a deletion in the 13th residue, can accommodate all letters of DNA including methylated cytosine. Also S* may have the ability to bind to any DNA nucleotide.

A number of online tools are available for designing TALEs to target a specific DNA sequence, for example TALE-NT (https://tale-nt.cac.cornell.edu/), Mojo hand (http://www.talendesign.org/). Commercially available kits may also assist in creating custom assembly of TALE repeat regions between the N and C-terminus of the protein. These methods can be used to assemble custom DBDs, which are then cloned into an expression vector containing a functional domain, e.g. TcBuster transposase sequence.

TABLE 6 RVD Binding Preference nucleotides RVD A G C T NN medium medium NK weak NI medium NG weak HD medium NS weak medium weak weak NG weak N* weak weak HN weak medium NT weak medium NP weak weak medium NH medium SN weak SH weak NA weak strong weak weak IG weak H* poor poor weak poor ND weak HI medium HG weak NC weak NQ weak SS weak SN weak S* medium medium strong medium NV weak medium poor poor HH poor poor poor poor YG poor poor poor poor

TALEs can be synthesized de novo in the laboratory, for example, by combining digestion and ligation steps in a Golden Gate reaction with type II restriction enzymes. Alternatively, TALE can be assembled by a number of different approaches, including, but not limited to, Ligation-Independent Cloning (LIC), Fast Ligation-based Automatable Solid-phase High-throughput (FLASH) assembly, and Iterative-Capped Assembly (ICA).

Zinc fingers (ZF) are ˜30 amino acids that can bind to a limited combination of ˜3 nucleotides. The C2H2 ZF domain may be the most common type of ZF and appears to be one of the most abundantly expressed proteins in eukaryotic cells. ZFs are small, functional and independently folded domains coordinated with zinc molecules in their structure. Amino acids in each ZF can have affinity towards specific nucleotides, causing each finger to selectively recognize 3-4 nucleotides of DNA. Multiple ZFs can be arranged into a tandem array and recognize a set of nucleotides on the DNA. By using a combination of different zinc fingers, a unique DNA sequence within the genome can be targeted. Different ZFPs of various lengths can be generated, which may allow for recognition of almost any desired DNA sequence out of the possible 64 triplet subsites.

Zinc fingers to be used in connection with the present disclosure can be created using established modular assembly fingers, such as a set of modular assembly finger domains developed by Barbas and colleagues, and also another set of modular assembly finger domains by ToolGen. Both set of domains cover all 3 bp GNN, most ANN, many CNN and some TNN triplets (where N can be any of the four nucleotides). Both have a different set of fingers, which allows for searching and coding different ZF modules as needed. A combinatorial selection-based oligomerized pool engineering (OPEN) strategy can also be employed to minimize context-dependent effects of modular assembly involving the position of a finger in the protein and the sequence of neighboring fingers. OPEN ZF arrays are publicly available from the Zinc Finger Consortium Database.

AAV Rep DNA-binding domain is another DNA sequence specific binding domain that can be used in connection with the subject matter of the present disclosure. Viral cis -acting inverted terminal repeats (ITRs), and the trans-acting viral Rep proteins (Rep) are believed to be the factors mediating preferential integration of AAV into AAVS1 site of the host genome in the absence of a helper virus. AAV Rep protein can bind to specific DNA sequence in the AAVS1 site. Therefore, a site-specific DNA-binding domain can be fused together with a TcBuster transposase domain as described herein.

A fusion transposase as provided herein can comprise a TcBuster transposase sequence and a tag sequence. A tag sequence as provide herein can refer to any protein sequence that can be used as a detection tag of the fusion protein, such as, but not limited to, reporter proteins and affinity tags that can be recognized by antibodies. Reporter proteins include, but not limited to, fluorescent proteins (e.g. GFP, RFP, mCherry, YFP), β-galactosidase (β-gal), alkaline phosphatase (AP), chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT), horseradish peroxidase (HRP). Non-limiting examples of affinity tags include polyhistidine (His tag), Glutathione S-Transferase (GST), Maltose Binding Protein (MBP), Calmodulin Binding Peptide (CBP), intein-chitin binding domain (intein-CBD), Streptavidin/Biotin-based tags, Epitope tags like FLAG, HA, c-myc, T7, Glu-Glu and many others.

A fusion transposase as provided herein can comprise a TcBuster transposase sequence and a DNA sequence specific binding domain or a tag sequence fused together without any intermediate sequence (e.g., “back-to-back”). In some cases, a fusion transposase as provided herein can comprise a TcBuster transposase sequence and a DNA sequence specific binding domain or a tag sequence joined by a linker sequence. FIG. 8 is a schematic of an exemplary fusion transposase that comprises a DNA sequence specific binding domain and a TcBuster transposase sequence, joined by a linker. In an exemplary fusion transposase, a linker may serve primarily as a spacer between the first and second polypeptides. A linker can be a short amino acid sequence to separate multiple domains in a single polypeptide. A linker sequence can comprise linkers occurring in natural multi-domain proteins. In some instances, a linker sequence can comprise linkers artificially created. The choice of linker sequence may be based on the application of the fusion transposase. A linker sequence can comprise 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, or more amino acids. In some embodiments, the linker sequence may comprise at least 3, at least 4, at least 5, at least 6, at least 7, at least 8, at least 9, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, or at least 50 amino acids. In some embodiments, the linker sequence can comprise at most 4, at most 5, at most 6, at most 7, at most 8, at most 9, at most 10, at most 11, at most 12, at most 15, at most 20, at most 30, at most 40, at most 50, or at most 100 amino acids. In certain cases, it may be desirable to use flexible linker sequences, such as, but not limited to, stretches of Gly and Ser residues (“GS” linker) like (GGGGS)n (n=2-8) (SEQ ID NO: 83), (Gly)8 (SEQ ID NO: 84), GSAGSAAGSGEF (SEQ ID NO: 85), (GGGGS)4 (SEQ ID NO: 86). Sometimes, it may be desirable to use rigid linker sequences, such as, but not limited to, (EAAAK)n (n=2-7) (SEQ ID NO: 87), Pro-rich sequences like (XP)n, with X designating any amino acid.

In an exemplary fusion transposase provided herein, a TcBuster transposase sequence can be fused to the N-terminus of a DNA sequence specific binding domain or a tag sequence. Alternatively, a TcBuster transposase sequence can be fused to the C-terminus of a DNA sequence specific binding domain or a tag sequence. In some embodiments, a third domain sequence or more of other sequences can be present in between the TcBuster transposase and the DNA sequence specific binding domain or the tag sequence, depending on the application of the fusion transposase.

TcBuster Transposon

Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a TcBuster transposon that comprises a cassette cargo positioned between two inverted repeats. A TcBuster transposon can be recognized by a TcBuster transposase as described herein, e.g., a TcBuster transposase can recognize the TcBuster transposon and catalyze transposition of the TcBuster transposon into a DNA sequence.

The terms “inverted repeats”, “terminal inverted repeats”, “inverted terminal repeats”, as used interchangeably herein, can refer to short sequence repeats flanking the transposase gene in a natural transposon or a cassette cargo in an artificially engineered transposon. The two inverted repeats are generally required for the mobilization of the transposon in the presence of a corresponding transposase. Inverted repeats as described herein may contain one or more direct repeat (DR) sequences. These sequences usually are embedded in the terminal inverted repeats (TIRs) of the elements. The term “cargo cassette” as used herein can refer to a nucleotide sequence other than a native nucleotide sequence between the inverted repeats that contains the TcBuster transposase gene. A cargo cassette can be artificially engineered.

A transposon described herein may contain a cargo cassette flanked by IR/DR sequences. In some embodiments, at least one of the repeats contains at least one direct repeat. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a transposon may contain a cargo cassette flanked by IRDR-L-Seq1 (SEQ ID NO: 3) and IRDR-R-Seq1 (SEQ ID NO: 4). In many cases, a left inverted repeat can comprise a sequence at least 40%, at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, at least 99%, or 100% identical to IRDR-L-Seq1 (SEQ ID NO: 3). Sometimes, a right inverted repeat can comprise a sequence at least 40%, at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, at least 99%, or 100% identical to IRDR-R-Seq1 (SEQ ID NO: 4). In other cases, a right inverted repeat can comprise a sequence at least 40%, at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, at least 99%, or 100% identical to IRDR-L-Seq1 (SEQ ID NO: 3). Sometimes, a left inverted repeat can comprise a sequence at least 40%, at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, at least 99%, or 100% identical to IRDR-R-Seq1 (SEQ ID NO: 4). The terms “left” and “right”, as used herein, can refer to the 5′ and 3′ sides of the cargo cassette on the sense strand of the double strand transposon, respectively. It is also possible that a transposon may contain a cargo cassette flanked by IRDR-L-Seq2 (SEQ ID NO: 5) and IRDR-R-Seq2 (SEQ ID NO: 6). In many cases, a left inverted repeat can comprise a sequence at least 40%, at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, at least 99%, or 100% identical to IRDR-L-Seq2 (SEQ ID NO: 5). Sometimes, a right inverted repeat can comprise a sequence at least 40%, at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, at least 99%, or 100% identical to IRDR-R-Seq2 (SEQ ID NO: 6). In other cases, a right inverted repeat can comprise a sequence at least 40%, at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, at least 99%, or 100% identical to IRDR-L-Seq2 (SEQ ID NO: 5). Sometimes a left inverted repeat can comprise a sequence at least 40%, at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, at least 99%, or 100% identical to IRDR-R-Seq2 (SEQ ID NO: 6). A transposon may contain a cargo cassette flanked by two inverted repeats that have different nucleotide sequences than the ones given in FIG. 2, or a combination of the various sequences known to one skilled in the art. At least one of the two inverted repeats of a transposon described herein may contain a sequence that is at least 40%, at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 70%, at least 80%, at least 90%, at least 95%, at least 98%, at least 99%, or 100% identical to any one of SEQ ID NOs: 3-6. At least one of inverted repeats of a transposon described herein may contain a sequence that is at least 80% identical to SEQ ID NO: 3 or 4. At least one of inverted repeats of a transposon described herein may contain a sequence that is at least 80% identical to SEQ ID NO: 5 or 6. The choice of inverted repeat sequences may vary depending on the expected transposition efficiency, the type of cell to be modified, the transposase to use, and many other factors.

In many implementations, minimally sized transposon vector inverted terminal repeats that conserve genomic space may be used. The ITRs of hAT family transposons diverge greatly with differences in right-hand and left-hand ITRs. In many cases, smaller ITRs consisting of just 100-200 nucleotides are as active as the longer native ITRs in hAT transposon vectors. These sequences may be consistently reduced while mediating hAT family transposition. These shorter ITRs can conserve genomic space within hAT transposon vectors.

The inverted repeats of a transposon provided herein can be about 50 to 2000 nucleotides, about 50 to 1000 nucleotides, about 50 to 800 nucleotides, about 50 to 600 nucleotides, about 50 to 500 nucleotides, about 50 to 400 nucleotides, about 50 to 350 nucleotides, about 50 to 300 nucleotides, about 50 to 250 nucleotides, about 50 to 200 nucleotides, about 50 to 180 nucleotides, about 50 to 160 nucleotides, about 50 to 140 nucleotides, about 50 to 120 nucleotides, about 50 to 110 nucleotides, about 50 to 100 nucleotides, about 50 to 90 nucleotides, about 50 to 80 nucleotides, about 50 to 70 nucleotides, about 50 to 60 nucleotides, about 75 to 750 nucleotides, about 75 to 450 nucleotides, about 75 to 325 nucleotides, about 75 to 250 nucleotides, about 75 to 150 nucleotides, about 75 to 95 nucleotides, about 100 to 500 nucleotides, about 100 to 400 nucleotides, about 100 to 350 nucleotides, about 100 to 300 nucleotides, about 100 to 250 nucleotides, about 100 to 220 nucleotides, about 100 to 200 nucleotides, or in any range derived therefrom.

In some cases, a cargo cassette can comprise a promoter, a transgene, or a combination thereof. In cargo cassettes comprising both a promoter and a transgene, the expression of the transgene can be directed by the promoter. A promoter can be any type of promoter available to one skilled in the art. Non-limiting examples of the promoters that can be used in a TcBuster transposon include EFS, CMV, MND, EF1α, CAGGs, PGK, UBC, U6, H1, and Cumate. The choice of a promoter to be used in a TcBuster transposition would depend on a number of factors, such as, but not limited to, the expression efficiency of the promoter, the type of cell to be genetically modified, and the desired transgene expression level.

A transgene in a TcBuster transposon can be any gene of interest and available to one skilled in the art. A transgene can be derived from, or a variant of, a gene in nature, or can be artificially designed. A transgene can be of the same species origin as the cell to be modified, or from different species. A transgene can be a prokaryotic gene, or a eukaryotic gene. Sometimes, a transgene can be a gene derived from a non-human animal, a plant, or a human being. A transgene can comprise introns. Alternatively, a transgene may have introns removed or not present.

In some embodiments, a transgene can code for a protein. Exemplary proteins include, but are not limited to, a cellular receptor, an immunological checkpoint protein, a cytokine, or any combination thereof. Sometimes, a cellular receptor as described herein can include, but not limited to a T cell receptor (TCR), a B cell receptor (BCR), a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR), or any combination thereof.

A cargo cassette as described herein may not contain a transgene coding for any type of protein product, but that is useful for other purposes. For instance, a cargo cassette may be used for creating frameshift in the insertion site, for example, when it is inserted in an exon of a gene in the host genome. This may lead to a truncation of the gene product or a null mutation. Sometimes, a cargo cassette may be used for replacing an endogenous genomic sequence with an exogenous nucleotide sequence, thereby modifying the host genome.

A transposon described herein may have a cargo cassette in either forward or reverse direction. In many cases, a cargo cassette has its own directionality. For instance, a cargo cassette containing a transgene would have a 5′ to 3′ coding sequence. A cargo cassette containing a promoter and a gene insertion would have promoter on the 5′ site of the gene insertion. The term “forward direction”, as used herein, can refer to the situation where a cargo cassette maintains its directionality on the sense strand of the double strand transposon. The term “reverse direction”, as used herein, can refer to the situation where a cargo cassette maintains its directionality on the antisense strand of the double strand transposon.

Systems for Genome Editing and Methods of Use

Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a system for genome editing. A system can comprise a TcBuster transposase and a TcBuster transposon. A system can be used to edit a genome of a host cell, disrupting or modifying an endogenous genomic region of the host cell, inserting an exogenous gene into the host genome, replacing an endogenous nucleotide sequence with an exogenous nucleotide sequence or any combination thereof.

A system for genome editing can comprise a mutant TcBuster transposase or fusion transposase as described herein, and a transposon recognizable by the mutant TcBuster transposase or the fusion transposase. A mutant TcBuster transposase or the fusion transposase can be provided as a purified protein. Protein production and purification technologies are known to one skilled in the art. The purified protein can be kept in a different container than the transposon, or they can be kept in the same container.

In many cases, a system for genome editing can comprise a polynucleotide encoding a mutant TcBuster transposase or fusion transposase as described herein, and a transposon recognizable by the mutant TcBuster transposase or the fusion transposase. Sometimes, a polynucleotide of the system can comprise DNA that encodes the mutant TcBuster transposase or the fusion transposase. Alternatively or additionally, a polynucleotide of the system can comprise messenger RNA (mRNA) that encodes the mutant TcBuster transposase or the fusion transposase. The mRNA can be produced by a number of approaches well known to one of ordinary skills in the art, such as, but not limited to, in vivo transcription and RNA purification, in vitro transcription, and de novo synthesis. In many cases, the mRNA can be chemically modified. The chemically modified mRNA may be resistant to degradation than unmodified or natural mRNAs or may degrade more quickly. In many cases, the chemical modification of the mRNA may render the mRNA being translated with more efficiency. Chemical modification of mRNAs can be performed with well-known technologies available to one skilled in the art, or by commercial vendors.

For many applications, safety dictates that the duration of hAT transposase expression be only long enough to mediate safe transposon delivery. Moreover, a pulse of hAT transposase expression that coincides with the height of transposon vector levels can achieve maximal gene delivery. The implementations are made using available technologies for the in vitro transcription of RNA molecules from DNA plasmid templates. The RNA molecules can be synthesized using a variety of methods for in vitro (e.g., cell free) transcription from a DNA copy. Methods to do this have been described and are commercially available. For example, the mMessage Machine in vitro transcription kit available through life technologies.

There are also a number of companies that can perform in vitro transcription on a fee for service basis. We have also found that that chemically modified RNAs for hAT expression work especially well for gene transfer. These chemically modified RNAs do not induce cellular immune responses and RNA generated using proprietary methods that also avoid the cellular immune response. These RNA preparations remove RNA dimers (Clean-Cap) and cellular reactivity (pseudouridine incorporation) produce better transient gene expression in human T cells without toxicity in our hands (data not shown). The RNA molecules can be introduced into cells using any of many described methods for RNA transfection, which is usually non-toxic to most cells. Methods to do this have been described and are commercially available. For example, the Amaxa nucleofector, Neon electroporator, and the Maxcyte platforms.

A transposon as described herein may be present in an expression vector. In many cases, the expression vector can be DNA plasmid. Sometimes, the expression vector can be a mini-circle vector. The term “mini-circle vector” as used herein can refer to small circular plasmid derivative that is free of most, if not all, prokaryotic vector parts (e.g., control sequences or non-functional sequences of prokaryotic origin). Under circumstances, the toxicity to the cells created by transfection or electroporation can be mitigated by using the “mini-circles” as described herein.

A mini-circle vector can be prepared by well-known molecular cloning technologies available. First, a ‘parental plasmid’ (bacterial plasmid with insertion, such as transposon construct) in bacterial, such as E. coli, can be produced, which can be followed by induction of a site-specific recombinase. These steps can then be followed by the excision of prokaryotic vector parts via two recombinase-target sequences at both ends of the insert, as well as recovery of the resulting mini-circle vector. The purified mini-circle can be transferred into the recipient cell by transfection or lipofection and into a differentiated tissue by, for instance, jet injection. A mini-circle containing TcBuster transposon can have a size about 1.5 kb, about 2 kb, about 2.2 kb, about 2.4 kb, about 2.6 kb, about 2.8 kb, about 3 kb, about 3.2 kb, about 3.4 kb, about 3.6 kb, about 3.8 kb, about 4 kb, about 4.2 kb, about 4.4 kb, about 4.6 kb, about 4.8 kb, about 5 kb, about 5.2 kb, about 5.4 kb, about 5.6 kb, about 5.8 kb, about 6 kb, about 6.5 kb, about 7 kb, about 8 kb, about 9 kb, about 10 kb, about 12 kb, about 25 kb, about 50 kb, or a value between any two of these numbers. Sometimes, a mini-circle containing TcBuster transposon as provided herein can have a size at most 2.1 kb, at most 3.1 kb, at most 4.1 kb, at most 4.5 kb, at most 5.1 kb, at most 5.5 kb, at most 6.5 kb, at most 7.5 kb, at most 8.5 kb, at most 9.5 kb, at most 11 kb, at most 13 kb, at most 15 kb, at most 30 kb, or at most 60 kb.

In certain embodiments, a system as described herein may contain a polynucleotide encoding a mutant TcBuster transposase or fusion transposase as described herein, and a transposon, which are present in a same expression vector, e.g. plasmid.

Yet another aspect of the present disclosure provides a method of genetic engineering. A method of genetic engineering can comprise introducing into a cell a TcBuster transposase and a transposon recognizable by the TcBuster transposase. A method of genetic engineering can also be performed in a cell-free environment. A method of genetic engineering in a cell-free environment can comprise combining a TcBuster transposase, a transposon recognizable by the transposase, and a target nucleic acid into a container, such as a well or tube.

A method described herein can comprises introducing into a cell a mutant TcBuster transposase provided herein and a transposon recognizable by the mutant TcBuster transposase. A method of genome editing can comprise: introducing into a cell a fusion transposase provided herein and a transposon recognizable by the fusion transposase.

The mutant TcBuster transposase or the fusion transposase can be introduced into the cell either as a protein or via a polynucleotide that encodes for the mutant TcBuster transposase or the fusion transposase. The polynucleotide, as discussed above, can comprise a DNA or an mRNA that encodes the mutant TcBuster transposase or the fusion transposase.

In many instances, the TcBuster transposase or the fusion transposase can be transfected into a host cell as a protein, and the concentration of the protein can be at least 0.05 nM, at least 0.1 nM, at least 0.2 nM, at least 0.5 nM, at least 1 nM, at least 2 nM, at least 5 nM, at least 10 nM, at least 50 nM, at least 100 nM, at least 200 nM, at least 500 nM, at least 1 μM, at least 2 μM, at least 5 μM, at least 7.5 μM, at least 10 μM, at least 15 μM, at least 20 μM, at least 25 μM, at least 50 μM, at least 100 μM, at least 200 μM, at least 500 μM, or at least 1 μM. Sometimes, the concentration of the protein can be around 1 μM to around 50 μM, around 2 μM to around 25 μM, around 5 μM to around 12.5 μM, or around 7.5 μM to around 10 μM.

In many cases, the TcBuster transposase or the fusion transposase can be transfected into a host cell through a polynucleotide, and the concentration of the polynucleotide can be at least about 5 ng/ml, 10 ng/ml, 20 ng/ml, 40 ng/ml, 50 ng/ml, 60 ng/ml, 80 ng/ml, 100 ng/ml, 120 ng/ml, 150 ng/ml, 180 ng/ml, 200 ng/ml, 220 ng/ml, 250 ng/ml, 280 ng/ml, 300 ng/ml, 500 ng/ml, 750 ng/ml, 1 μg /ml, 2 μg /ml, 3 μg /ml, 5 μg/ml, 50 μg/ml, 100 μg/ml, 150 μg/ml, 200 μg/ml, 250 μg/ml, 300 μg/ml, 350 μg/ml, 400 μg/ml, 450 μg/ml, 500 μg/ml, 550 μg/ml, 600 μg/ml, 650 μg/ml, 700 μg/ml, 750 μg/ml, or 800 μg/ml. Sometimes, the concentration of the polynucleotide can be between about 5-25 μg/ml, 25-50 μg/ml, 50-100 μg/ml, 100-150 μg/ml, 150-200 μg/ml, 200-250 μg/ml, 250-500 μg/ml, 5-800 μg/ml, 200-800 μg/ml, 250-800 μg/ml, 400-800 μg/ml, 500-800 μg/ml, or any range derivable therein. In many cases, the transposon is present in a separate expression vector than the transposase, and the concentration of the transposon can be at least about 5 ng/ml, 10 ng/ml, 20 ng/ml, 40 ng/ml, 50 ng/ml, 60 ng/ml, 80 ng/ml, 100 ng/ml, 120 ng/ml, 150 ng/ml, 180 ng/ml, 200 ng/ml, 220 ng/ml, 250 ng/ml, 280 ng/ml, 300 ng/ml, 500 ng/ml, 750 ng/ml, 1 μg /ml, 2 μg /ml, 3 μg /ml, 5 μg/ml, 50 μg/ml, 100 μg/ml, 150 μg/ml, 200 μg/ml, 250 μg/ml, 300 μg/ml, 350 μg/ml, 400 μg/ml, 450 μg/ml, 500 μg/ml, 550 μg/ml, 600 μg/ml, 650 μg/ml, 700 μg/ml, 750 μg/ml, or 800 μg/ml. Sometimes, the concentration of the transposon can be between about 5-25 μg/ml, 25-50 μg/ml, 50-100 μg/ml, 100-150 μg/ml, 150-200 μg/ml, 200-250 μg/ml, 250-500 μg/ml, 5-800 μg/ml, 200-800 μg/ml, 250-800 μg/ml, 400-800 μg/ml, 500-800 μg/ml, or any range derivable therein. It is possible the ratio of the transposon versus the polynucleotide coding for the transposase is at most 10000, at most 5000, at most 1000, at most 500, at most 200, at most 100, at most 50, at most 20, at most 10, at most 5, at most 2, at most 1, at most 0.1, at most 0.05, at most 0.01, at most 0.001, at most 0.0001, or any number in between any two thereof.

In some other cases, the transposon and the polynucleotide coding for the transposase are present in the same expression vector, and the concentration of the expression vector containing both transposon and the polynucleotide encoding transposase can be at least about 5 ng/ml, 10 ng/ml, 20 ng/ml, 40 ng/ml, 50 ng/ml, 60 ng/ml, 80 ng/ml, 100 ng/ml, 120 ng/ml, 150 ng/ml, 180 ng/ml, 200 ng/ml, 220 ng/ml, 250 ng/ml, 280 ng/ml, 300 ng/ml, 500 ng/ml, 750 ng/ml, 1 μg /ml, 2 μg /ml, 3 μg /ml, 5 μg/ml, 50 μg/ml, 100 μg/ml, 150 μg/ml, 200 μg/ml, 250 μg/ml, 300 μg/ml, 350 μg/ml, 400 μg/ml, 450 μg/ml, 500 μg/ml, 550 μg/ml, 600 μg/ml, 650 μg/ml, 700 μg/ml, 750 μg/ml, or 800 μg/ml. Sometimes, the concentration of the expression vector containing both transposon and the polynucleotide encoding transposase can be between about 5-25 μg/ml, 25-50 μg/ml, 50-100 μg/ml, 100-150 μg/ml, 150-200 μg/ml, 200-250 μg/ml, 250-500 μg/ml, 5-800 μg/ml, 200-800 μg/ml, 250-800 μg/ml, 400-800 μg/ml, 500-800 μg/ml, or any range derivable therein.

In some cases, the amount of polynucleic acids that may be introduced into the cell by electroporation may be varied to optimize transfection efficiency and/or cell viability. In some cases, less than about 100 μg of nucleic acid may be added to each cell sample (e.g., one or more cells being electroporated). In some cases, at least about 100 μg, at least about 200 μg, at least about 300 μg, at least about 400 μg, at least about 500 μg, at least about 600 μg, at least about 700 μg, at least about 800 μg, at least about 900 μg, at least about 1 microgram, at least about 1.5 μg, at least about 2 μg, at least about 2.5 μg, at least about 3 μg, at least about 3.5 μg, at least about 4 μg, at least about 4.5 μg, at least about 5 μg, at least about 5.5 μg, at least about 6 μg, at least about 6.5 μg, at least about 7 μg, at least about 7.5 μg, at least about 8 μg, at least about 8.5 μg, at least about 9 μg, at least about 9.5 μg, at least about 10 μg, at least about 11 μg, at least about 12 μg, at least about 13 μg, at least about 14 μg, at least about 15 μg, at least about 20 μg, at least about 25 μg, at least about 30 μg, at least about 35 μg, at least about 40 μg, at least about 45 μg, or at least about 50 μg, of nucleic acid may be added to each cell sample (e.g., one or more cells being electroporated). For example, 1 microgram of dsDNA may be added to each cell sample for electroporation. In some cases, the amount of polynucleic acids (e.g., dsDNA) required for optimal transfection efficiency and/or cell viability may be specific to the cell type.

The subject matter disclosed herein may find use in genome editing of a wide range of various types of host cells. In preferred embodiments, the host cells may be from eukaryotic organisms. In some embodiments, the cells may be from a mammal origin. In some embodiments, the cells may be from a human origin.

In general, the cells may be from an immortalized cell line or primary cells.

The terms “cell line” and “immortalized cell line”, as used herein interchangeably, can refer to a population of cells from an organism which would normally not proliferate indefinitely but, due to mutation, may have evaded normal cellular senescence and instead can keep undergoing division. The subject matter provided herein may find use in a range of common established cell lines, including, but not limited to, human BC-1 cells, human BJAB cells, human IM-9 cells, human Jiyoye cells, human K-562 cells, human LCL cells, mouse MPC-11 cells, human Raji cells, human Ramos cells, mouse Ramos cells, human RPMI8226 cells, human RS4-11 cells, human SKW6.4 cells, human Dendritic cells, mouse P815 cells, mouse RBL-2H3 cells, human HL-60 cells, human NAMALWA cells, human Macrophage cells, mouse RAW 264.7 cells, human KG-1 cells, mouse M1 cells, human PBMC cells, mouse BW5147 (T200-A)5.2 cells, human CCRF-CEM cells, mouse EL4 cells, human Jurkat cells, human SCID.adh cells, human U-937 cells or any combination of cells thereof.

The term “primary cells” and its grammatical equivalents, as used herein, can refer to cells taken directly from an organism, typically living tissue of a multicellular organism, such as animals or plants. In many cases, primary cells may be established for growth in vitro. In some cases, primary cells may be just removed from the organism and have not been established for growth in vitro yet before the transfection. In some embodiments, the primary cells can also be expanded in vitro, i.e. primary cells may also include progeny cells that are generated from proliferation of the cells taken directly from an organism. In these cases, the progeny cells do not exhibit the indefinite proliferative property as cells in established cell lines. For instance, the host cells may be human primary T cells, while prior to the transfection, the T cells have been exposed to stimulatory factor(s) that may result in T cell proliferation and expansion of the cell population.

The cells to be genetically modified may be primary cells from tissues or organs, such as, but not limited to, brain, lung, liver, heart, spleen, pancreas, small intestine, large intestine, skeletal muscle, smooth muscle, skin, bones, adipose tissues, hairs, thyroid, trachea, gall bladder, kidney, ureter, bladder, aorta, vein, esophagus, diaphragm, stomach, rectum, adrenal glands, bronchi, ears, eyes, retina, genitals, hypothalamus, larynx, nose, tongue, spinal cord, or ureters, uterus, ovary, testis, and any combination thereof. In certain embodiments, the cells may include, but not limited to, hematocyte, trichocyte, keratinocyte, gonadotrope, corticotrope, thyrotrope, somatotrope, lactotroph, chromaffin cell, parafollicular cell, glomus cell, melanocyte, nevus cell, merkel cell, odontoblast, cementoblast, corneal keratocyte, retina muller cell, retinal pigment epithelium cell, neuron, glia, ependymocyte, pinealocyte, pneumocyte, clara cell, goblet cell, G cell, D cell, Enterochromaffin-like cell, gastric chief cell, parietal cell, foveolar cell, K cell, D cell, I cell, paneth cell, enterocyte, microfold cell, hepatocyte, hepatic stellate cell, cholecystocyte, centroacinar cell, pancreatic stellate cell, pancreatic a cell, pancreatic β cell, pancreatic δ cell, pancreatic F cell, pancreatic ε cell, thyroid parathyroid, oxyphil cell, urothelial cell, osteoblast, osteocyte, chondroblast, chondrocyte, fibroblast, fibrocyte, myoblast, myocyte, myosatellite cell, tendon cell, cardiac muscle cell, lipoblast, adipocyte, interstitial cell of cajal, angioblast, endothelial cell, mesangial cell, juxtaglomerular cell, macula densa cell, stromal cell, interstitial cell, telocyte, simple epithelial cell, podocyte, kidney proximal tubule brush border cell, sertoli cell, leydig cell, granulosa cell, peg cell, germ cell, spermatozoon ovum, lymphocyte, myeloid cell, endothelial progenitor cell, endothelial stem cell, angioblast, mesoangioblast, pericyte mural cell, and any combination thereof. In many instances, the cell to be modified may be a stem cell, such as, but not limited to, embryonic stem cell, hematopoietic stem cell, epidermal stem cell, epithelial stem cell, bronchoalveolar stem cell, mammary stem cell, mesenchymal stem cell, intestine stem cell, endothelial stem cell, neural stem cell, olfactory adult stem cell, neural crest stem cell, testicular cell, and any combination thereof. Sometimes, the cell can be an induced pluripotent stem cell that is derived from any type of tissue.

In some embodiments, the cell to be genetically modified may be a mammalian cell. In some embodiments, the cell may be an immune cell. Non-limiting examples of the cell can include a B cell, a basophil, a dendritic cell, an eosinophil, a gamma delta T cell, a granulocyte, a helper T cell, a Langerhans cell, a lymphoid cell, an innate lymphoid cell (ILC), a macrophage, a mast cell, a megakaryocyte, a memory T cell, a monocyte, a myeloid cell, a natural killer T cell, a neutrophil, a precursor cell, a plasma cell, a progenitor cell, a regulatory T-cell, a T cell, a thymocyte, any differentiated or de-differentiated cell thereof, or any mixture or combination of cells thereof. In certain cases, the cell may be a T cell. In some embodiments, the cell may be a primary T cell. In certain cases, the cell may be an antigen-presenting cell (APC). In some embodiments, the cell may be a primary APC. The APCs in connection with the present disclosure may be a dendritic cell, macrophage, B cell, other non-professional APCs, or any combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the cell may be an ILC (innate lymphoid cell), and the ILC can be a group 1 ILC, a group 2 ILC, or a group 3 ILC. Group 1 ILCs may generally be described as cells controlled by the T-bet transcription factor, secreting type-1 cytokines such as IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha in response to intracellular pathogens. Group 2 ILCs may generally be described as cells relying on the GATA-3 and ROR-alpha transcription factors, producing type-2 cytokines in response to extracellular parasite infections. Group 3 ILCs may generally be described as cells controlled by the ROR-gamma t transcription factor, and produce IL-17 and/or IL-22.

In some embodiments, the cell may be a cell that is positive or negative for a given factor. In some embodiments, a cell may be a CD3+ cell, CD3− cell, a CD5+ cell, CD5− cell, a CD7+ cell, CD7− cell, a CD14+ cell, CD14− cell, CD8+ cell, a CD8− cell, a CD103+ cell, CD103− cell, CD11b+ cell, CD11b− cell, a BDCA1+ cell, a BDCA1− cell, an L-selectin+ cell, an L-selectin− cell, a CD25+, a CD25− cell, a CD27+, a CD27− cell, a CD28+ cell, CD28− cell, a CD44+ cell, a CD44− cell, a CD56+ cell, a CD56− cell, a CD57+ cell, a CD57− cell, a CD62L+ cell, a CD62L− cell, a CD69+ cell, a CD69− cell, a CD45RO+ cell, a CD45RO− cell, a CD127+ cell, a CD127− cell, a CD132+ cell, a CD132− cell, an IL-7+ cell, an IL-7− cell, an IL-15+ cell, an IL-15− cell, a lectin-like receptor G1 positive cell, a lectin-like receptor G1 negative cell, or an differentiated or de-differentiated cell thereof. The examples of factors expressed by cells is not intended to be limiting, and a person having skill in the art will appreciate that the cell may be positive or negative for any factor known in the art. In some embodiments, the cell may be positive for two or more factors. For example, the cell may be CD4+ and CD8+. In some embodiments, the cell may be negative for two or more factors. For example, the cell may be CD25−, CD44−, and CD69−. In some embodiments, the cell may be positive for one or more factors, and negative for one or more factors. For example, a cell may be CD4+ and CD8−.

It should be understood that cells used in any of the methods disclosed herein may be a mixture (e.g., two or more different cells) of any of the cells disclosed herein. For example, a method of the present disclosure may comprise cells, and the cells are a mixture of CD4+ cells and CD8+ cells. In another example, a method of the present disclosure may comprise cells, and the cells are a mixture of CD4+ cells and naive cells.

As provided herein, the transposase and the transposon can be introduced in to a cell through a number of approaches. The term “transfection” and its grammatical equivalents as used herein can generally refer to a process whereby nucleic acids are introduced into eukaryotic cells. The transfection methods that can be used in connection with the subject matter can include, but not limited to, electroporation, microinjection, calcium phosphate precipitation, cationic polymers, dendrimers, liposome, microprojectile bombardment, fugene, direct sonic loading, cell squeezing, optical transfection, protoplast fusion, impalefection, magnetofection, nucleofection, or any combination thereof. In many cases, the transposase and transposon described herein can be transfected into a host cell through electroporation. Sometimes, transfection can also be done through a variant of electroporation method, such as nucleofection (also known as Nucleofector™ technology). The term “electroporation” and its grammatical equivalents as used herein can refer to a process whereby an electrical field is applied to cells in order to increase the permeability of the cell membrane, allowing chemicals, drugs, or DNA to be introduced into the cell. During electroporation, the electric filed is often provided in the form of “pulses” of very brief time periods, e.g. 5 milliseconds, 10 milliseconds, and 50 milliseconds. As understood by those skilled in the art, electroporation temporarily opens up pores in a cell's outer membrane by use of pulsed rotating electric fields. Methods and apparatus used for electroporation in vitro and in vivo are also well known. Various electric parameters can be selected dependent on the cell type being electroporated and physical characteristics of the molecules that are to be taken up by the cell, such as pulse intensity, pulse length, number of pulses).

Applications

The subject matter, e.g., the compositions (e.g., mutant TcBuster transposases, fusion transposases, TcBuster transposons), systems and methods, provided herein may find use in a wide range of applications relating to genome editing, in various aspects of modern life.

Under certain circumstances, advantages of the subject matter described herein may include, but not limited to, reduced costs, regulatory consideration, lower immunogenicity and less complexity. In some cases, a significant advantage of the present disclosure is the high transposition efficiency. Another advantage of the present disclosure, in many cases, is that the transposition system provided herein can be “tunable”, e.g., transposition can be designed to target select genomic region rather than random insertion.

One non-limiting example is related to create genetically modified cells for research and clinical applications. For example, as discussed above, genetically modified T cells can be created using the subject matter provided herein, which may find use in helping people fighting against a variety of diseases, such as, but not limited to, cancer and infectious disease.

One particular example includes generation of genetically modified primary leukocytes using the methods provided herein, and administering the genetically modified primary leukocytes to a patient in need thereof. The generation of genetically modified primary leukocytes can include introducing into a leukocyte a transposon and a mutant TcBuster transposase or the fusion transposase as described herein, which can recognize the transposon, thereby generating a genetically modified leukocyte. In many cases, the transposon may comprise a transgene. The transgene can be a cellular receptor, an immunological checkpoint protein, a cytokine, and any combination thereof. Sometimes, a cellular receptor can include, but not limited to a T cell receptor (TCR), a B cell receptor (BCR), a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR), or any combination thereof. In some other cases, the transposon and the transposase are designed to delete or modify an endogenous gene, for instance, a cytokine, an immunological checkpoint protein, an oncogene, or any combination thereof. The genetic modification of the primary leukocytes can be designed to facilitate immunity against an infectious pathogen or cancer cells that render the patient in diseased state.

Another non-limiting example is related to create genetically modified organisms for agriculture, food production, medicine, and pharmaceutics. The species that can be genetically modified span a wide range, including, but not limited to, plants and animals. The genetically modified organisms, such as genetically modified crops or livestock, may be modified in a certain aspect of their physiological properties. Examples in food crops include resistance to certain pests, diseases, or environmental conditions, reduction of spoilage, or resistance to chemical treatments (e.g. resistance to a herbicide), or improving the nutrient profile of the crop. Examples in non-food crops include production of pharmaceutical agents, biofuels, and other industrially useful goods, as well as for bioremediation. Examples in livestock include resistance to certain parasites, production of certain nutrition elements, increase in growth rate, and increase in milk production.

The term “about” and its grammatical equivalents in relation to a reference numerical value and its grammatical equivalents as used herein can include a range of values plus or minus 10% from that value. For example, the amount “about 10” includes amounts from 9 to 11. The term “about” in relation to a reference numerical value can also include a range of values plus or minus 10%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, or 1% from that value.

EXAMPLES

The examples below further illustrate the described embodiments without limiting the scope of this disclosure.

Example 1 Materials and Methods

This example describes several methods utilized for generation and evaluation of exemplary mutant TcBuster transposases.

Site Directed Mutagenesis for TcBuster Mutant Preparation

Putative hyperactive TcBuster (TcB) transposase mutants were identified by nucleotide sequence and amino acid alignment of hAT and buster subfamilies. The Q5 site-directed mutagenesis kit (New England BioLabs) was used for all site-directed mutagenesis. Following PCR mutagenesis, PCR products were purified with GeneJET PCR purification kit (Thermo Fisher Scientific). A 20 uL ligation reaction of purified PCR products was performed using T4 DNA ligase (New England BioLabs). 5 uL of ligation reaction was used for transformation in DH10Beta cells. Direct colony sequencing through Sequetech was used to confirm the presence of desired mutations. DNA for confirmed mutations was prepped using ZymoPURE plasmid miniprep kits (Zymo Research).

Measuring Transection Efficiency in HEK-293T Cells

HEK-293T cells were plated at 300,000 cells per well of a 6 well plate one day prior to transfection. Cells were transfected with 500 ng transposon carrying mCherry-puromycin cassette and 62.5 ng TcB transposase using TransIT X2 reagent per manufacturer's instructions (Minis Bio). Two days post-transfection, cells were re-plated with puromycin (1 ug/mL) at a density of 3,000 cells/well of a 6 well plate in triplicate in DMEM complete media, or re-plated without puromycin selection. Stable integration of the transgene was assessed by colony counting of puromycin treated cells (each cell that survived drug selection formed a colony) or flow cytometry. For colony counting, two weeks post-puromycin selection, DMEM complete+puromycin media was removed. Cells were washed with 1× PBS and cells were stained with 1× crystal violet solution for 10 minutes. Plates were washed twice with PBS and colonies counted.

For flow cytometry analysis, stable integration of the transgene was assessed by detection of mCherry fluorescence in cells grown without drug selection. Transfected cells were harvested at indicated time points post-transfection, washed 1× with PBS and resuspended in 200 uL RDFII buffer for analysis. Cells were analyzed using Novocyte (Acea Biosciences) and mCherry expression was assessed using the PE-Texas red channel.

Screening of TcB Transposase Mutants in HEK-293T Cells

HEK-293T cells were plated at 75,000 cells per well of a 24 well plate one day prior to transfection. Cells were transfected with 500 ng transposon and 125 ng transposase using TransIT X2 reagent in duplicate per manufacturer's instructions (Minis Bio). Stable integration of the transgene was assessed by detection of mCherry fluorescence. Cells were harvested at 14 days post-transfection, washed 1× with PBS and resuspended in 200 uL RDFII buffer. Cells were analyzed using Novocyte (Acea Biosciences) and mCherry expression was assessed using the PE-Texas red channel.

Transfection of TcBuster Transposon and Transposase in CD3+ T-Cells

CD3+ T-cells were enriched and cryopreserved from leukopaks (StemCellTechnologies). CD3+ T-cells were thawed and activated using CD3/CD28 Dynabeads (ThermoFisher) for 2 days in X-Vivo -15 media supplemented with human serum and IL-2, IL-15 and IL-7 cytokines. Prior to transfection, CD3/CD28 beads were removed, cells washed and electroporated using Neon Transfection system (ThermoFisher) with TcBuster transposon (mini-circle carrying TcBuster and Sleeping beauty IR/DRs and GFP cargo) and TcBuster or Sleeping Beauty transposases in RNA form. As a viability control, cells were “pulse” electroporated without DNA or RNA. Electroporated cells were expanded for 21 days post-transfection and viability stable integration of GFP cargo was assessed by flow cytometry. Viability was measured by SSC-A vs F SC-A and standardized to pulse only control, and GFP expression was assessed using FITC channel on days 2, 7, 14 and 21.

Example 2 Exemplary Transposon Constructs

The aim of this study was to examine transposition efficiency of different exemplary TcBuster transposon constructs. Inventors compared 10 TcBuster (TcB) transposon (Tn) configurations (FIG. 1A) to test their transposition efficiency in mammalian cells. These 10 TcB Tns differed in the promoter used (EFS vs CMV), IR/DR sequence and direction of the transposon cargo. The transposons each contained an identical cassette coding for mCherry linked by 2A to a drug-resistance gene, puromycin, so that transfected cells could be identified by fluorescence and/or selection with puromycin. HEK-293T cells were transfected with one of the 10 TcB Tns and TcB wild-type transposase (ratio of 1 transposon: 1 transposase). Stable integration of the transgene was assessed by flow cytometry by detection of mCherry fluorescence for 10-30 days post-transfection (FIG. 1B).

It was found that, under experimental conditions, stable expression of the transgene mCherry was greatly enhanced using the CMV promoter compared to EFS. Transposition appeared to only occur when sequence 1 IR/DRs was used. It was also found that transcription of the cargo in the reverse direction promoted greater transposition activity compared to the forward direction.

TcB Tn-8 showed the greatest transposition efficiency among the test 10 Tns by flow cytometry. To confirm the transposition efficiency of TcB Tn-8, HEK-293T cells were transfected with TcB Tn-8 with WT transposase or V596A mutant transposase. Two days post-transfection, cells were re-plated with puromycin (1 ug/mL) at a density of 3,000 cells/well of a 6 well plate in triplicate in DMEM complete media. After selection for two weeks, each cell that survived drug selection formed a colony, which was assessed for mCherry expression (FIG. 3A) and counted to confirm stable integration of the transgene (FIGS. 3B-C). Transposition efficiency of TcB-Tn 8 was confirmed by expression of mCherry and puromycin resistant colonies in HEK-293T cells.

Example 3 Exemplary Transposase Mutants

The aim of this study was to generate TcBuster transposase mutants and examine their transposition efficiency.

To this end, inventors have generated a consensus sequence by comparing cDNA and amino acid sequences of wild-type TcB transposase to other similar transposases. For the comparison, sleeping beauty was resurrected by the alignment of 13 similar transposases and SPIN by the alignment of SPIN like transposases from 8 separate organisms. SPIN and TcBuster are a part of the abundant hAT family of transposases.

The hAT transposon family consists of two subfamilies: AC, such as has hobo, hermes, and Tol2, and the Buster subfamily, such as SPIN and TcBuster. Amino acid sequence of TcBuster was aligned to amino acid sequences of both AC and Buster subfamily members to identify key amino acids that are not conserved in TcBuster that may be targets of hyperactive substitutions. Alignment of TcBuster to the AC subfamily members Hermes, Hobo, Tag2, Tam3, Herves, Restless, and Tol2 allowed us to identify amino acids within areas of high conservation that could be substituted in TcBuster (FIG. 4). Further, sequence alignment of TcBuster to the Buster subfamily led to a larger number of candidate amino acids that may be substituted (FIG. 5). Candidate TcB transposase mutants were generated using oligonucleotides comprising site mutations as listed in Table 7. The mutants were then sequence verified, cloned into pCDNA-DEST40 expression vector (FIG. 6) and mini-prepped prior to transfection.

TABLE 7 SEQ Amino Acid ID Substitutions Oligo Name Oligonucleotide Sequence (5′-3′) NO Q82E TCB Q82E GATTTGCGAGgAGGTAGTCAAC 14 FWD Q82E TCB Q82E ACACAAAGTCCGTTGGGC 15 REV A358E TCBA358E CGCGTCTTCGaaTTGCTGTGTGAC 16 FWD A358E TCBA358E CGCATTCAACGGCCGAGA 17 REV A358S TCBA358S GCGCGTCTTCagTTTGCTGTGTGACG 18 FWD A358S TCBA358S GCATTCAACGGCCGAGAC 19 REV A358K TCBA358K GCGCGTCTTCaagTTGCTGTGTGACG 20 FWD A358K TCBA358K GCATTCAACGGCCGAGAC 21 REV S447E TCBS447E CAAGGTAAATgagCGCATTAACAGTATTAAATC 22 FWD S447E TCBS447E AAGATTGTGCTATTCGGC 23 REV I452F TCBI452F CATTAACAGTtTTAAATCAAAGTTGAAG 24 FWD I452F TCBI452F CGGCTATTTACCTTGAAG 25 REV N281E TCBN281E CATCCCATGGgaaCTGTGTTACC 26 FWD N281E TCBN281E GAGTGCTTTTCGAAATAGG 27 REV I223Q TCBI223Q CGGTCTTGCAcagCTGCTTGTGTTTG 28 FWD I223Q TCBI223Q GCAACATCTGTTGACTCG 29 REV P510D TCBP510D GTATTTTCCAgatACGTGTAATAATATCTCCTG 30 FWD P510D TCBP510D TCCAGAAAGGTGTTCTTAAG 31 REV P510N TCBP510N GTATTTTCCAaatACGTGTAATAATATCTCC 32 FWD P510N TCBP510N TCCAGAAAGGTGTTCTTAAG 33 REV E517R TCBE517R CTCCTGGGTGcggAATCCTTTCAATG 34 FWD E517R TCBE517R ATATTATTACACGTAGGTGG 35 REV KS90T TCBK590T GAAATTAGCAcACGAGCTGTC 36 FWD KS90T TCBK590T TGGAAATTCGTCCATCAG 37 REV N885S TCBN885S GCAGGTAGTCagcAATTCCTCAC 38 FWD N885S TCBN885S TCGCAAATCACACAAAGTC 39 REV S109D TCBS109D TAAAGGCAAGgacGAATACTTCAAAAGAAAATGTAAC 40 FOR S109D TCBS109D TAAAGGCAAGgacGAATACTTCAAAAGAAAATGTAAC 41 REV K135E TCBK135E GGACGATAACgagAACCTCCTGA 42 FWD K135E TCBK135E CTTACGTATCGCTCAAAAGTATG 43 REV D99A TcB-D99AF ACGCCATTTGgcaACAAAGCATC 44 D99A TcB-D99AR TTCAGTTTGGCCGGGTTA 45 D132A TcB-D132A-F ATACGTAAGGgcaGATAACAAGAACC 46 D132A TcB-D132A-R CGCTCAAAAGTATGCTTC 47 E159A TcB-E159A-F TACCATAGCGgcgAAGTTGATCAAG 48 E159A TcB-E159A-R TATGCCTCGCCCTGTTTA 49 D189A TcB-D189A-F CCCCCTGTCCgcaACGACTATTTC 50 D189A TcB-D189A-R ACGAGATCAACTTTGCTC 51 D227A TcB-D227A-F CGAGTCAACAgcaGTTGCCGGTC 52 D227A TcB-D227A-R TCCATCTGCAGCGTAAAC 53 E243A TcB-E243A-F GTACATACATgcaAGCTCTTTTG 54 E243A TcB-E243A-R CTAACAAACACAAGCAGG 55 V377T TcB-V377T-F TCATACCGAAacgAGGTGGCTGTC 56 V377T TcB-V377T-R AGAAGAAGATTTTTATGCAGG 57 S225W TcB-S225W-F GATGGACGAGtggACAGATGTTGC 58 S225W TcB-S225W-R TGCAGCGTAAACCCACAT 59 Y155F TcB-Y155F-F GGGCGAGGCAtttACCATAGCGG 60 Y155F TcB-Y155F-R TGTTTAGCTATTCTCAAACTGACGAGATAAG 61 D132A TcB-D132A-F ATACGTAAGGgcaGATAACAAGAACC 62 D132A TcB-D132A-R CGCTCAAAAGTATGCTTC 63 E159A TcB-E159A-F TACCATAGCGgcgAAGTTGATCAAG 64 E159A TcB-E159A-R TATGCCTCGCCCTGTTTA 65 D189A TcB-D189A-F CCCCCTGTCCgcaACGACTATTTC 66 D189A TcB-D189A-R ACGAGATCAACTTTGCTC 67 D227A TcB-D227A-F CGAGTCAACAgcaGTTGCCGGTC 68 D227A TcB-D227A-R TCCATCTGCAGCGTAAAC 69 E243A TcB-E243A-F GTACATACATgcaAGCTCTTTTG 70 E243A TcB-E243A-R CTAACAAACACAAGCAGG 71 V377T TcB-V377T-F TCATACCGAAacgAGGTGGCTGTC 72 V377T TcB-V377T-R AGAAGAAGATTTTTATGCAGG 73 S224W TcB-S224W-F GATGGACGAGtggACAGATGTTGC 74 S224W TcB-S224W-R TGCAGCGTAAACCCACAT 75 Y155F TcB-Y155F-F GGGCGAGGCAtttACCATAGCGG 76 Y155F TcB-Y155F-R TGTTTAGCTATTCTCAAACTGACGAGATAAG 77

To examine the transposition efficiency of the TcB transposase mutants, HEK-293T cells were transfected with TcB Tn-8 (mCherry-puromycin cassette) with WT transposase or V596A mutant transposase, or the candidate transposase mutants in duplicate. Cells were grown in DMEM complete (without drug selection) and mCherry expression was assessed by flow cytometry on Day 14 post-transfection. Over 20 TcB transposase mutants were identified that had transposition efficiency greater than the wild-type transposase (FIG. 7). It was discovered that among these examined mutants, one mutant transposase containing a combination of three amino acid substitutions, D189A, V377T, and E469K, led to a substantial increase in transposition activity, as compared to mutants containing respective single substitutions. Mutants with high transposition activity also included, among others, K573E/E578L, I452F, A358K, V297K, N85S, S447E, E247K, and Q258T.

Among these examined mutants, it was discovered that most of substitutions to a positively charged amino acid, such as Lysine (K) or Arginine (R), in proximity to one of the catalytic triad amino acids (D234, D289, and E589) increased transposition. In addition, removal of a positive charge, or addition of a negative charge decreased transposition. These data suggests that amino acids close to the catalytic domain may help promote the transposition activity of TcB, in particular, when these amino acids are mutated to positively charged amino acids.

The amino acid sequence of the hyperactive TcBuster mutant D189A/V377T/E469K (SEQ ID NO: 78) is illustrated in FIG. 12. Further mutational analysis of this mutant will be performed. As illustrated in FIG. 13, the TcBuster mutant D189A/V377T/E469K/I452F (SEQ ID NO: 79) will be constructed. As illustrated in FIG. 14, the TcBuster mutant D189A/V377T/E469K/N85S (SEQ ID NO: 80) will be constructed. As illustrated in FIG. 15, the Tc Buster mutant D189A/V377T/E469K/S358K (SEQ ID NO: 81) will be constructed. As illustrated in FIG. 16, the Tc Buster mutant D189A/V377T/E469K/K573E/E578L (SEQ ID NO: 13) will be constructed. In each of FIGS. 12-16, the domains of TcBuster are indicated as follows: ZnF-BED (lowercase lettering), DNA Binding/oligomization domain (bold lettering), catalytic domain (underlined lettering), and insertion domain (italicized lettering); the core D189A/V377T/E469K substitutions are indicated in larger, bold, italicized, and underlined letters; and the additional substitutions are indicated in large, bold letters. Each of these constructs will be tested as already described and are anticipated to show hyperactivity in comparison to the wild type TcBuster.

Example 4 Exemplary Fusion Transposase Containing Tag

The aim of this study was to generate and examine the transposition efficiency of fusion TcBuster transposases. As an example, protein tag, GST or PEST domain, was fused to N-terminus of TcBuster transposase to generate fusion TcBuster transposases. A flexible linker GGSGGSGGSGGSGTS (SEQ ID NO: 9), which was encoded by SEQ ID NO: 10, was used to separate the GST domain/PEST domain from TcBuster transposase. The presence of this flexibility linker may minimize non-specific interaction in the fusion protein, thus increasing its activity. The exemplary fusion transposases were transfected with TcB Tn-8 as described above and transposition efficiency was measured by mCherry expression on Day 14 by flow cytometry. Transposition efficiency was not affected by tagging of GFP or PEST domain (FIG. 9), suggesting that fusing the transposase DNA binding domains to direct integration of TcBuster cargo to select genomic sites, such as safe harbor sites, could be a viable option for TcBuster allowing for a safer integration profile.

Example 5 Exemplary Fusion Transposase Comprising TALE Domain

The aim of this study is to generate a fusion TcBuster transposase comprising a TALE domain and to examine the transposition activity of the fusion transposase. A TALE sequence (SEQ ID NO: 11) is designed to target human AAVS1 (hAAVS1) site of human genome. The TALE sequence is thus fused to N-terminus of a wild-type TcBuster transposase (SEQ ID NO: 1) to generate a fusion transposase. A flexible linker Gly4Ser2 (SEQ ID NO: 88), which is encoded by SEQ ID NO: 12, is used to separate the TALE domain and the TcBuster transposase sequence. The exemplary fusion transposase has an amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO: 8.

The exemplary fusion transposase will be transfected with a TcB Tn-8 as described above into Hela cells with the aid of electroporation. The TcB Tn-8 comprises a reporter gene mCherry. The transfection efficiency can be examined by flow cytometry 2 days post-transfection that counts mCherry-positive cells. Furthermore, next-generation sequencing will be performed to assess the mCherry gene insertion site in the genome. It is expected that the designed TALE sequence can mediate the target insertion of the mCherry gene at a genomic site near hAAVS1 site.

Example 6 Transposition Efficiency in Primary Human T-Cells

The aim of this study was to develop TcBuster transposon system to engineer primary CD3+ T cells. To this end, inventors incorporated an exemplary TcBuster transposon carrying a GFP transgene into a mini-circle plasmid. Activated CD3+ T cells were electroporated with TcB mini-circle transposon and RNA transposases, such as WT TcBuster transposase, and select exemplary mutants as described in Example 2. The transgene expression was monitored for 21 days post-electroporation by flow cytometry.

It was found that transposition of the TcB transposon was improved nearly two folds using the exemplary mutants, V377T/E469K and V377T/E469K/D189A, 14 days post-transfection compared to the WT TcBuster transposase and V596A mutant transposase (FIG. 10A). Further, mean transposition efficiency with the hyperactive mutants V377T/E469K and V377T/E469K/D189A was two (mean=20.2) and three (mean=24.1) times more efficient compared to SB11 (mean=8.4), respectively.

Next, the viability of CD3+ T cells was assessed two days post-electroporation with the mini-circle TcB transposon and RNA transposase. It was found that viability was moderately decreased when CD3+ T-cells were transfected with TcB mini-circle and RNA transposase; however, the cells quickly recovered viability by Day 7 (FIG. 10B). These experiments demonstrate the competency of the TcBuster transposon system, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, in cellular engineering of primary T cells.

Example 7 Generation of Chimeric Antigen Receptor-Modified T Cells for Treatment of Cancer Patient

A mini-circle plasmid containing aforementioned TcB Tn-8 construct can be designed to harbor a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) gene between the inverted repeats of the transposon. The CAR can be designed to have specificity for the B-cell antigen CD19, coupled with CD137 (a costimulatory receptor in T cells [4-1BB]) and CD3-zeta (a signal-transduction component of the T-cell antigen receptor) signaling domains.

Autologous T cells will be obtained from peripheral blood of a patient with cancer, for example, leukemia. The T cells can be isolated by lysing the red blood cells and depleting the monocytes by centrifugation through a PERCOLL™ gradient. CD3+ T cells can be isolated by flow cytometry using anti-CD3/anti-CD28-conjugated beads, such as DYNABEAD M-450 CD3/CD28T. The isolated T cells will be cultured under standard conditions according to GMP guidance.

Genetic modification of the primary T cells will be conducted using a mutant TcBuster transposase (SEQ ID NO: 13) comprising amino acid substitutions V377T, E469K, D189A, K573E and E578L and the TcBuster Tn-8 transposase comprising the CAR, as described above. The T cells will be electroporated in the presence of the mutant TcBuster transposase and the CAR-containing Tn-8 transposase. Following transfection, T cells will be treated with immunostimulatory reagents (such as anti-CD3 antibody and IL-2, IL-7, and IL-15) for activation and expansion. Validation of the transfection will be performed by next-generation sequencing 2 weeks post-transfection. The transfection efficiency and transgene load in the transfected T cells can be determined to assist the design of treatment regimen. Certain measure will also be taken to eliminate any safety concern if risky transgene insertion site is uncovered by the sequencing results.

Infusion of the chimeric antigen receptor modified T cells (CAR-T cells) back to the cancer patient will start after validation of transgene insertion and in vitro expansion of the CAR-T cells to a clinically desirable level.

The infusion dose will be determined by a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the stage of the cancer, the treatment history of the patient, and the CBC (complete blood cell count) and vital signs of the patient on the day of treatment. Infusion dose may be escalated or deescalated depending on the progression of the disease, the repulsion reaction of the patient, and many other medical factors. In the meantime, during the treatment regimen, quantitative polymerase-chain-reaction (qPCR) analysis will be performed to detect chimeric antigen receptor T cells in blood and bone marrow. The qPCR analysis can be utilized to make medical decision regarding the dosing strategy and other treatment plans.

TABLE 8 Amino Acid and Nucleotide Sequences Sequence Description Amino Acid Sequence Or Nucleotide Sequence (SEQ ID NO) Wild-type TcBuster (accession number: ABF20545) transposase MMLNWLKSGKLESQSQEQSSCYLENSNCLPPILDSTDIIGEENKAGITSRKKRKYDED YLNFGFTWIGDKDEPNGLCVICEQVVNNSSLNPAKLKRHLDTKHPILKGKSEYFKRKC NELNQKKHTFERYVRDDNKNLLKASYLVSLRIAKQGEAYTIAEKLIKPCIKDLITCVF GEKFASKVDLVPLSDITISRRIEDMSYFCEAVLVNRLKNAKCGFTLQMDESTDVAGLA ILLVFVRYIHESSFEEDMLFCKALPTQTTGEEIFNLLNAYFEKHSIPWNLCYHICIDG AKAMVGVIKGVIARIKKLVPDIKASHCCLHRHALAVKRIPNALHEVLNDAVKMINFIK SRPLNARVFALLCDDLGSLHKNLLLHTEVRWLSRGKVLTRFWELRDEIRIFFNEREFA GKLNDTSWLQNLAYIADIFSYLNEVNLSLQGPNSTIFKVNSRINSIKSKLKLWEECIT KNNTECFANLNDFLETSNTALDPNLKSNILEHLNGLKNIFLEYFPPTCNNISWVENPF NECGNVDTLPIKEREQLIDIRIDTTLKSSFVPDGIGPFWIKLMDEFFEISKRAVKELM PFVTTYLCEKSFSVYVATKTKYRNRLDAEDDMRLQLTTIHPDIDNLCNNKQAQKSH (SEQ ID NO: 1) Wild-type TcBuster atgatgttgaattggctgaaaagtggaaagcttgaaagtcaatcacaggaacagagtt transposase cctgctaccttgagaactctaactgcctgccaccaacgctcgattctacagatattat cggtgaagagaacaaagctggtaccacctctcgcaagaagcggaaatatgacgaggac tatctgaacttcggttttacatggactggcgacaaggatgagcccaacggactttgtg tgatttgcgagcaggtagtcaacaattcctcacttaacccggccaaactgaaacgcca tttggacacaaagcatccgacgcttaaaggcaagagcgaatacttcaaaagaaaatgt aacgagctcaatcaaaagaagcatacttttgagcgatacgtaagggacgataacaaga acctcctgaaagcttcttatctcgtcagtttgagaatagctaaacagggcgaggcata taccatagcggagaagttgatcaagccttgcaccaaggatctgacaacttgcgtattt ggagaaaaattcgcgagcaaagttgatctcgtccccctgtccgacacgactatttcaa ggcgaatcgaagacatgagttacttctgtgaagccgtgctggtgaacaggttgaaaaa tgctaaatgtgggtttacgctgcagatggacgagtcaacagatgttgccggtcttgca atcctgcttgtgtttgttaggtacatacatgaaagctcttttgaggaggatatgttgt tctgcaaagcacttcccactcagacgacaggggaggagattttcaatcttctcaatgc ctatttcgaaaagcactccatcccatggaatctgtgttaccacatttgcacagacggt gccaaggcaatggtaggagttattaaaggagtcatagcgagaataaaaaaactcgtcc ctgatataaaagctagccactgttgcctgcatcgccacgctttggctgtaaagcgaat accgaatgcattgcacgaggtgctcaatgacgctgttaaaatgatcaacttcatcaag tctcggccgttgaatgcgcgcgtcttcgctttgctgtgtgacgatttggggagcctgc ataaaaatcttcttcttcataccgaagtgaggtggctgtctagaggaaaggtgctgac ccgattttgggaactgagagatgaaattagaattttcttcaacgaaagggaatttgcc gggaaattgaacgacaccagttggttgcaaaatttggcatatatagctgacatattca gttatctgaatgaagttaatctttccctgcaagggccgaatagcacaatcttcaaggt aaatagccgcattaacagtattaaatcaaagttgaagttgtgggaagagtgtataacg aaaaataacactgagtgttttgcgaacctcaacgattttttggaaacttcaaacactg cgttggatccaaacctgaagtctaatattttggaacatctcaacggtcttaagaacac ctttctggagtattttccacctacgtgtaataatatctcctgggtggagaatcctttc aatgaatgcggtaacgtcgatacactcccaataaaagagagggaacaattgattgaca tacggactgatacgacattgaaatcttcattcgtgcctgatggtataggaccattctg gatcaaactgatggacgaatttccagaaattagcaaacgagctgtcaaagagctcatg ccatttgtaaccacttacctctgtgagaaatcattttccgtctatgtagccacaaaaa caaaatatcgaaatagacttgatgctgaagacgatatgcgactccaacttactactat ccatccagacattgacaacctttgtaacaacaagcaggctcagaaatcccactga (SEQ ID NO: 2) IRDR-L-Seq1 Cagtgttcttcaacctttgccatccggcggaaccctttgtcgagatatttttttttat ggaacccttcatttagtaatacacccagatgagattttagggacagctgcgttgactt gttacgaacaaggtgagcccgtgctttggtctagccaagggcatggtaaagactatat tcgcggcgttgtgacaatttaccgaacaactccgcggccgggaagccgatctcggctt gaacgaattgttaggtggcggtacttgggtcgatatcaaagtgcatcacttcttcccg tatgcccaactttgtatagagagccactgcgggatcgtcaccgtaatctgcttgcacg tagatcacataagcaccaagcgcgttggcctcatgcttgaggagattgatgagcgcgg tggcaatgccctgcctccggtgctcgccggagactgcgagatcatagatata (SEQ ID NO: 3) IRDR-R-Seq1 >gatatcaagcttatcgataccgtcgacctcgagatttctgaacgattctaggttagg atcaaacaaaatacaatttattttaaaactgtaagttaacttacctttgcttgtctaa accaaaaacaacaacaaaactacgaccacaagtacagttacatatttttgaaaattaa ggttaagtgcagtgtaagtcaactatgcgaatggataacatgtttcaacatgaaactc cgattgacgcatgtgcattctgaagagcggcgcggccgacgtctctcgaattgaagca atgactcgcggaaccccgaaagcctttgggtggaaccctagggttccgcggaacacag gttgaagaacactg (SEQ ID NO: 4) IRDR-L-Seq2 Cctgcaggagtgttcttcaacctttgccatccggcggaaccctttgtcgagatatttt tttttatggaacccttcatttagtaatacacccagatgagattttagggacagctgcg ttgacttgttacgaacaaggtgagcccgtgctttggtaataaaaactctaaataagat ttaaatttgcatttatttaaacaaactttaaacaaaaagataaatattccaaataaaa taatatataaaataaaaaataaaaattaatgacttttttgcgcttgcttattattgca caaattatcaatatcgggatggatcgttgtttttt (SEQ ID NO: 5) IRDR-R-Seq2 Gagccaattcagcatcatatttctgaacgattctaggttaggatcaaacaaaatacaa tttattttaaaactgtaagttaacttacctttgcttgtctaaacctaaaacaacaaca aaactacgaccacaagtacagttacatatttttgaaaattaaggttaagtgcagtgta agtcaactatgcgaatggataacatgtttcaacatgaaactccgattgacgcatgtgc attctgaagagcggcgcggccgacgtctctcgaattgaagcaatgactcgcggaaccc cgaaagcctttgggtggaaccctagggttccgcggaacacaggttgaagaacactg (SEQ ID NO: 6) pcDNA-DEST 40 gacggatcgggagatctcccgatcccctatggtgcactctcagtacaatctgctctga tgccgcatagttaagccagtatctgctccctgcttgtgtgttggaggtcgctgagtag tgcgcgagcaaaatttaagctacaacaaggcaaggcttgaccgacaattgcatgaaga atctgcttagggttaggcgttttgcgctgcttcgcgatgtacgggccagatatacgcg ttgacattgattattgactagttattaatagtaatcaattacggggtcattagttcat agcccatatatggagttccgcgttacataacttacggtaaatggcccgcctggctgac cgcccaacgacccccgcccattgacgtcaataatgacgtatgttcccatagtaacgcc aatagggactttccattgacgtcaatgggtggagtatttacggtaaactgcccacttg gcagtacatcaagtgtatcatatgccaagtacgccccctattgacgtcaatgacggta aatggcccgcctggcattatgcccagtacatgaccttatgggactttcctacttggca gtacatctacgtattagtcatcgctattaccatggtgatgcggttttggcagtacatc aatgggcgtggatagcggtttgactcacggggatttccaagtctccaccccattgacg tcaatgggagtttgttttggcaccaaaatcaacgggactttccaaaatgtcgtaacaa ctccgccccattgacgcaaatgggcggtaggcgtgtacggtgggaggtctatataagc agagctctctggctaactagagaacccactgcttactggcttatcgaaattaatacga ctcactatagggagacccaagctggctagttaagctatcaacaagtttgtacaaaaaa gctgaacgagaaacgtaaaatgatataaatatcaatatattaaattagattttgcata aaaaacagactacataatactgtaaaacacaacatatccagtcactatggcggccgca ttaggcaccccaggctttacactttatgcttccggctcgtataatgtgtggattttga gttaggatccggcgagattttcaggagctaaggaagctaaaatggagaaaaaaatcac tggatataccaccgttgatatatcccaatggcatcgtaaagaacattttgaggcattt cagtcagttgctcaatgtacctataaccagaccgttcagctggatattacggcctttt taaagaccgtaaagaaaaataagcacaagttttatccggcctttattcacattcttgc ccgcctgatgaatgctcatccggaattccgtatggcaatgaaagacggtgagctggtg atatgggatagtgttcacccttgttacaccgttttccatgagcaaactgaaacgtttt catcgctctggagtgaataccacgacgatttccggcagtttctacacatatattcgca agatgtggcgtgttacggtgaaaacctggcctatttccctaaagggtttattgagaat atgtttttcgtctcagccaatccctgggtgagtttcaccagttttgatttaaacgtgg ccaatatggacaacttcttcgcccccgttttcaccatgggcaaatattatacgcaagg cgacaaggtgctgatgccgctggcgattcaggttcatcatgccgtctgtgatggcttc catgtcggcagaatgcttaatgaattacaacagtactgcgatgagtggcagggcgggg cgtaaagatctggatccggcttactaaaagccagataacagtatgcgtatttgcgcgc tgatttttgcggtataagaatatatactgatatgtatacccgaagtatgtcaaaaaga ggtgtgctatgaagcagcgtattacagtgacagttgacagcgacagctatcagttgct caaggcatatatgatgtcaatatctccggtctggtaagcacaaccatgcagaatgaag cccgtcgtctgcgtgccgaacgctggaaagcggaaaatcaggaagggatggctgaggt cgcccggtttattgaaatgaacggctcttttgctgacgagaacagggactggtgaaat gcagtttaaggtttacacctataaaagagagagccgttatcgtctgtttgtggatgta cagagtgatattattgacacgcccgggcgacggatggtgatccccctggccagtgcac gtctgctgtcagataaagtctcccgtgaactttacccggtggtgcatatcggggatga aagctggcgcatgatgaccaccgatatggccagtgtgccggtctccgttatcggggaa gaagtggctgatctcagccaccgcgaaaatgacatcaaaaacgccattaacctgatgt tctggggaatataaatgtcaggctccgttatacacagccagtctgcaggtcgaccata gtgactggatatgttgtgttttacagtattatgtagtctgttttttatgcaaaatcta atttaatatattgatatttatatcattttacgtttctcgttcagctttcttgtacaaa gtggttgatctagagggcccgcggttcgaaggtaagcctatccctaaccctctcctcg gtctcgattctacgcgtaccggtcatcatcaccatcaccattgagtttaaacccgctg atcagcctcgactgtgccttctagttgccagccatctgttgtttgcccctcccccgtg ccttccttgaccctggaaggtgccactcccactgtcctttcctaataaaatgaggaaa ttgcatcgcattgtctgagtaggtgtcattctattctggggggtggggtggggcagga cagcaagggggaggattgggaagacaatagcaggcatgctggggatgcggtgggctct atggcttctgaggcggaaagaaccagctggggctctagggggtatccccacgcgccct gtagcggcgcattaagcgcggcgggtgtggtggttacgcgcagcgtgaccgctacact tgccagcgccctagcgcccgctcctttcgctttcttcccttcctttctcgccacgttc gccggctttccccgtcaagctctaaatcgggggctccctttagggttccgatttagtg ctttacggcacctcgaccccaaaaaacttgattagggtgatggttcacgtagtgggcc atcgccctgatagacggtttttcgccctttgacgttggagtccacgttctttaatagt ggactcttgttccaaactggaacaacactcaaccctatctcggtctattcttttgatt tataagggattttgccgatttcggcctattggttaaaaaatgagctgatttaacaaaa atttaacgcgaattaattctgtggaatgtgtgtcagttagggtgtggaaagtccccag gctccccagcaggcagaagtatgcaaagcatgcatctcaattagtcagcaaccaggtg tggaaagtccccaggctccccagcaggcagaagtatgcaaagcatgcatctcaattag tcagcaaccatagtcccgcccctaactccgcccatcccgcccctaactccgcccagtt ccgcccattctccgccccatggctgactaattttttttatttatgcagaggccgaggc cgcctctgcctctgagctattccagaagtagtgaggaggcttttttggaggcctaggc ttttgcaaaaagctcccgggagcttgtatatccattttcggatctgatcaagagacag gatgaggatcgtttcgcatgattgaacaagatggattgcacgcaggttctccggccgc ttgggtggagaggctattcggctatgactgggcacaacagacaatcggctgctctgat gccgccgtgttccggctgtcagcgcaggggcgcccggttctttttgtcaagaccgacc tgtccggtgccctgaatgaactgcaggacgaggcagcgcggctatcgtggctggccac gacgggcgttccttgcgcagctgtgctcgacgttgtcactgaagcgggaagggactgg ctgctattgggcgaagtgccggggcaggatctcctgtcatctcaccttgctcctgccg agaaagtatccatcatggctgatgcaatgcggcggctgcatacgcttgatccggctac ctgcccattcgaccaccaagcgaaacatcgcatcgagcgagcacgtactcggatggaa gccggtcttgtcgatcaggatgatctggacgaagagcatcaggggctcgcgccagccg aactgttcgccaggctcaaggcgcgcatgcccgacggcgaggatctcgtcgtgaccca tggcgatgcctgcttgccgaatatcatggtggaaaatggccgcttttctggattcatc gactgtggccggctgggtgtggcggaccgctatcaggacatagcgttggctacccgtg atattgctgaagagcttggcggcgaatgggctgaccgcttcctcgtgctttacggtat cgccgctcccgattcgcagcgcatcgccttctatcgccttcttgacgagttcttctga gcgggactctggggttcgcgaaatgaccgaccaagcgacgcccaacctgccatcacga gatttcgattccaccgccgccttctatgaaaggttgggcttcggaatcgttttccggg acgccggctggatgatcctccagcgcggggatctcatgctggagttcttcgcccaccc caacttgtttattgcagcttataatggttacaaataaagcaatagcatcacaaatttc acaaataaagcatttttttcactgcattctagttgtggtttgtccaaactcatcaatg tatcttatcatgtctgtataccgtcgacctctagctagagcttggcgtaatcatggtc atagctgtttcctgtgtgaaattgttatccgctcacaattccacacaacatacgagcc ggaagcataaagtgtaaagcctggggtgcctaatgagtgagctaactcacattaattg cgttgcgctcactgcccgctttccagtcgggaaacctgtcgtgccagctgcattaatg aatcggccaacgcgcggggagaggcggtttgcgtattgggcgctcttccgcttcctcg ctcactgactcgctgcgctcggtcgttcggctgcggcgagcggtatcagctcactcaa aggcggtaatacggttatccacagaatcaggggataacgcaggaaagaacatgtgagc aaaaggccagcaaaaggccaggaaccgtaaaaaggccgcgttgctggcgtttttccat aggctccgcccccctgacgagcatcacaaaaatcgacgctcaagtcagaggtggcgaa acccgacaggactataaagataccaggcgtttccccctggaagctccctcgtgcgctc tcctgttccgaccctgccgcttaccggatacctgtccgcctttctcccttcgggaagc gtggcgctttctcatagctcacgctgtaggtatctcagttcggtgtaggtcgttcgct ccaagctgggctgtgtgcacgaaccccccgttcagcccgaccgctgcgccttatccgg taactatcgtcttgagtccaacccggtaagacacgacttatcgccactggcagcagcc actggtaacaggattagcagagcgaggtatgtaggcggtgctacagagttcttgaagt ggtggcctaactacggctacactagaagaacagtatttggtatctgcgctctgctgaa gccagttaccttcggaaaaagagttggtagctcttgatccggcaaacaaaccaccgct ggtagcggtggtttttttgtttgcaagcagcagattacgcgcagaaaaaaaggatctc aagaagatcctttgatcttttctacggggtctgacgctcagtggaacgaaaactcacg ttaagggattttggtcatgagattatcaaaaaggatcttcacctagatccttttaaat taaaaatgaagttttaaatcaatctaaagtatatatgagtaaacttggtctgacagtt accaatgcttaatcagtgaggcacctatctcagcgatctgtctatttcgttcatccat agttgcctgactccccgtcgtgtagataactacgatacgggagggcttaccatctggc cccagtgctgcaatgataccgcgagacccacgctcaccggctccagatttatcagcaa taaaccagccagccggaagggccgagcgcagaagtggtcctgcaactttatccgcctc catccagtctattaattgttgccgggaagctagagtaagtagttcgccagttaatagt ttgcgcaacgttgttgccattgctacaggcatcgtggtgtcacgctcgtcgtttggta tggcttcattcagctccggttcccaacgatcaaggcgagttacatgatcccccatgtt gtgcaaaaaagcggttagctccttcggtcctccgatcgttgtcagaagtaagttggcc gcagtgttatcactcatggttatggcagcactgcataattctcttactgtcatgccat ccgtaagatgcttttctgtgactggtgagtactcaaccaagtcattctgagaatagtg tatgcggcgaccgagttgctcttgcccggcgtcaatacgggataataccgcgccacat agcagaactttaaaagtgctcatcattggaaaacgttcttcggggcgaaaactctcaa ggatcttaccgctgttgagatccagttcgatgtaacccactcgtgcacccaactgatc ttcagcatcttttactttcaccagcgtttctgggtgagcaaaaacaggaaggcaaaat gccgcaaaaaagggaataagggcgacacggaaatgttgaatactcatactcttccttt ttcaatattattgaagcatttatcagggttattgtctcatgagcggatacatatttga atgtatttagaaaaataaacaaataggggttccgcgcacatttccccgaaaagtgcca cctgacgtc (SEQ ID NO: 7) Fusion Transposase atgctcgagatggatccctccgacgcttcgccggccgcgcaggtggatctacgcacgc containing wild-type tcggctacagtcagcagcagcaagagaagatcaaaccgaaggtgcgttcgacagtggc TcBuster sequence gcagcaccacgaggcactggtgggccatgggtttacacacgcgcacatcgttgcgctc and TALE DNA- agccaacacccggcagcgttagggaccgtcgctgtcacgtatcagcacataatcacgg binding domain cgttgccagaggcgacacacgaagacatcgttggcgtcggcaaacagtggtccggcgc targeting human acgcgccctggaggccttgttgactgatgctggtgagcttagaggacctcctttgcaa AAVS 1 cttgatacaggccagcttctgaaaatcgccaagaggggtggggtcaccgcggtcgagg ccgtacacgcctggagaaatgcactgaccggggctcctcttaacCTGACCCCAGACCA GGTAGTCGCAATCGCGTCAAACGGAGGGGGAAAGCAAGCCCTGGAAACCGTGCAAAGG TTGTTGCCGGTCCTTTGTCAAGACCACGGCCTTACACCGGAGCAAGTCGTGGCCATTG CATCCCACGACGGTGGCAAACAGGCTCTTGAGACGGTTCAGAGACTTCTCCCAGTTCT CTGTCAAGCCCACGGGCTGACTCCCGATCAAGTTGTAGCGATTGCGTCGCATGACGGA GGGAAACAAGCATTGGAGACTGTCCAACGGCTCCTTCCCGTGTTGTGTCAAGCCCACG GTTTGACGCCTGCACAAGTGGTCGCCATCGCCTCCAATATTGGCGGTAAGCAGGCGCT GGAAACAGTACAGCGCCTGCTGCCTGTACTGTGCCAGGATCATGGACTGACGGCCAAG CTGGCCGGGGGCGCCCCCGCCGTGGGCGGGGGCCCCAAGGCCGCCGATAAATTCGCCG CCACCatgatgttgaattggctgaaaagtggaaagcttgaaagtcaatcacaggaaca gagttcctgctaccttgagaactctaactgcctgccaccaacgctcgattctacagat attatcggtgaagagaacaaagctggtaccacctctcgcaagaagcggaaatatgacg aggactatctgaacttcggttttacatggactggcgacaaggatgagcccaacggact ttgtgtgatttgcgagcaggtagtcaacaattcctcacttaacccggccaaactgaaa cgccatttggacacaaagcatccgacgcttaaaggcaagagcgaatacttcaaaagaa aatgtaacgagctcaatcaaaagaagcatacttttgagcgatacgtaagggacgataa caagaacctcctgaaagcttcttatctcgtcagtttgagaatagctaaacagggcgag gcatataccatagcggagaagttgatcaagccttgcaccaaggatctgacaacttgcg tatttggagaaaaattcgcgagcaaagttgatctcgtccccctgtccgacacgactat ttcaaggcgaatcgaagacatgagttacttctgtgaagccgtgctggtgaacaggttg aaaaatgctaaatgtgggtttacgctgcagatggacgagtcaacagatgttgccggtc ttgcaatcctgcttgtgtttgttaggtacatacatgaaagctcttttgaggaggatat gttgttctgcaaagcacttcccactcagacgacaggggaggagattttcaatcttctc aatgcctatttcgaaaagcactccatcccatggaatctgtgttaccacatttgcacag acggtgccaaggcaatggtaggagttattaaaggagtcatagcgagaataaaaaaact cgtccctgatataaaagctagccactgttgcctgcatcgccacgctttggctgtaaag cgaataccgaatgcattgcacgaggtgctcaatgacgctgttaaaatgatcaacttca tcaagtctcggccgttgaatgcgcgcgtcttcgctttgctgtgtgacgatttggggag cctgcataaaaatcttcttcttcataccgaagtgaggtggctgtctagaggaaaggtg Ctgacccgattttgggaactgagagatgaaattagaattttcttcaacgaaagggaat ttgccgggaaattgaacgacaccagttggttgcaaaatttggcatatatagctgacat attcagttatctgaatgaagttaatctttccctgcaagggccgaatagcacaatcttc aaggtaaatagccgcattaacagtattaaatcaaagttgaagttgtgggaagagtgta taacgaaaaataacactgagtgttttgcgaacctcaacgattttttggaaacttcaaa cactgcgttggatccaaacctgaagtctaatattttggaacatctcaacggtcttaag aacacctttctggagtattttccacctacgtgtaataatatctcctgggtggagaatc ctttcaatgaatgcggtaacgtcgatacactcccaataaaagagagggaacaattgat tgacatacggactgatacgacattgaaatcttcattcgtgcctgatggtataggacca ttctggatcaaactgatggacgaatttccagaaattagcaaacgagctgtcaaagagc tcatgccatttgtaaccacttacctctgtgagaaatcattttccgtctatgtagccac aaaaacaaaatatcgaaatagacttgatgctgaagacgatatgcgactccaacttact actatccatccagacattgacaacctttgtaacaacaagcaggctcagaaatcccact ga (SEQ ID NO: 8) Flexible linker GGSGGSGGSGGSGTS (Example 4) (SEQ ID NO: 9) Flexible linker GGAGGTAGTGGCGGTAGTGGGGGCTCCGGTGGGAGCGGCACCTCA (Example 4) (SEQ ID NO: 10) TALE domain atgctcgagatggatccctccgacgcttcgccggccgcgcaggtggatctacgcacgc targeting hAAVS1 tcggctacagtcagcagcagcaagagaagatcaaaccgaaggtgcgttcgacagtggc site (Example 5) gcagcaccacgaggcactggtgggccatgggtttacacacgcgcacatcgttgcgctc agccaacacccggcagcgttagggaccgtcgctgtcacgtatcagcacataatcacgg cgttgccagaggcgacacacgaagacatcgttggcgtcggcaaacagtggtccggcgc acgcgccctggaggccttgttgactgatgctggtgagcttagaggacctcctttgcaa cttgatacaggccagcttctgaaaatcgccaagaggggtggggtcaccgcggtcgagg ccgtacacgcctggagaaatgcactgaccggggctcctcttaacCTGACCCCAGACCA GGTAGTCGCAATCGCGTCAAACGGAGGGGGAAAGCAAGCCCTGGAAACCGTGCAAAGG TTGTTGCCGGTCCTTTGTCAAGACCACGGCCTTACACCGGAGCAAGTCGTGGCCATTG CATCCCACGACGGTGGCAAACAGGCTCTTGAGACGGTTCAGAGACTTCTCCCAGTTCT CTGTCAAGCCCACGGGCTGACTCCCGATCAAGTTGTAGCGATTGCGTCGCATGACGGA GGGAAACAAGCATTGGAGACTGTCCAACGGCTCCTTCCCGTGTTGTGTCAAGCCCACG GTTTGACGCCTGCACAAGTGGTCGCCATCGCCTCCAATATTGGCGGTAAGCAGGCGCT GGAAACAGTACAGCGCCTGCTGCCTGTACTGTGCCAGGATCATGGACTGAC (SEQ ID NO: 11) Flexible linker GGCCAAGCTGGCCGGGGGCGCCCCCGCCGTGGGCGGGGGCCCCAAGGCCGCCGATAAA (Example 5) TTCGCCGCCACC (SEQ ID NO: 12) Mutant TcBuster MMLNWLKSGKLESQSQEQSSCYLENSNCLPPTLDSTDIIGEENKAGTTSRKKRKYDED transposase YLNFGFTWTGDKDEPNGLCVICEQVVNNSSLNPAKLKRHLDTKHPTLKGKSEYFKRKC containing V377T, NELNQKKHTFERYVRDDNKNLLKASYLVSLRIAKQGEAYTIAEKLIKPCTKDLTTCVF E469K, D189A, GEKFASKVDLVPLSATTISRRIEDMSYFCEAVLVNRLKNAKCGFTLQMDESTDVAGLA K573E and E578L ILLVFVRYIHESSFEEDMLFCKALPTQTTGEEIFNLLNAYFEKHSIPWNLCYHICTDG AKAMVGVIKGVIARIKKLVPDIKASHCCLHRHALAVKRIPNALHEVLNDAVKMINFIK SRPLNARVFALLCDDLGSLHKNLLLHTETRWLSRGKVLTRFWELRDEIRIFFNEREFA GKLNDTSWLQNLAYIADIFSYLNEVNLSLQGPNSTIFKVNSRINSIKSKLKLWEECIT KNNTKCFANLNDFLETSNTALDPNLKSNILEHLNGLKNTFLEYFPPTCNNISWVENPF NECGNVDTLPIKEREQLIDIRTDTTLKSSFVPDGIGPFWIKLMDEFFEISERAVKLLM PFVTTYLCEKSFSVYVATKTKYRNRLDAEDDMRLQLTTIHPDIDNLCNNKQAQKSH (SEQ ID NO: 13)

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described herein, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that such embodiments are provided by way of example only. Numerous variations, changes, and substitutions will now occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the invention. It should be understood that various alternatives to the embodiments of the invention described herein may be employed in practicing the invention. It is intended that the following claims define the scope of the invention and that methods and structures within the scope of these claims and their equivalents be covered thereby. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A mutant TcBuster transposase comprising an amino acid sequence at least 70% identical to full-length SEQ ID NO: 1 and amino acid substitutions V377T, E469K, D189A,K573E, E578L, or any combination thereof, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO:
 1. 2. The mutant TcBuster transposase of claim 1, comprising amino acid substitutions V377T, E469K, and D189A, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO:
 1. 3. The mutant TcBuster transposase of claim 1, comprising amino acid substitutions K573E and E578L, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO:
 1. 4. The mutant TcBuster transposase of claim 1, wherein the mutant TcBuster transposase has increased transposition efficiency in comparison to a wild-type TcBuster transposase having amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO: 1 when measured by an assay that comprises introducing the mutant TcBuster transposase and a TcBuster transposon containing a reporter cargo cassette into a population of cells, and detecting transposition of the reporter cargo cassette in the population of cells.
 5. The mutant TcBuster transposase of claim 1, comprising the amino acid sequence at least 90% identical to SEQ ID NO:
 1. 6. The mutant TcBuster transposase of claim 1, further comprising amino acid substitution I452F, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO:
 1. 7. The mutant TcBuster transposase of claim 1, further comprising amino acid substitution N85S, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO:
 1. 8. The mutant TcBuster transposase of claim 1, further comprising amino acid substitution A358K, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO:
 1. 9. The mutant TcBuster transposase of claim 1, further comprising amino acid substitution K573E, E578L, or K573E and E578L, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO:
 1. 10. The mutant TcBuster transposase of claim 1, further comprising amino acid substitution V297K, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO:
 1. 11. A polynucleotide encoding a mutant TcBuster transposase comprising an amino acid sequence at least 70% identical to full-length SEQ ID NO: 1 and amino acid substitutions V377T, E469K, D189A,K573E, E578L, or any combination thereof, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO:
 1. 12. A method of genome editing, comprising: introducing into a cell a mutant TcBuster transposase or a polynucleotide encoding the mutant TcBuster transposase, and a transposon recognizable by the mutant TcBuster transposase, wherein the mutant TcBuster transposase comprises an amino acid sequence at least 70% identical to full-length SEQ ID NO: 1 and amino acid substitutions V377T, E469K, D189A, K573E, E578L, or any combination thereof, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO:
 1. 13. The method of claim 12, comprising amino acid substitutions V377T, E469K, and D189A, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO:
 1. 14. The method of claim 12, comprising amino acid substitutions K573E and E578L, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO:
 1. 15. The method of claim 12, wherein the mutant TcBuster transposase has increased transposition efficiency in comparison to a wild-type TcBuster transposase having amino acid sequence SEQ ID NO: 1 when measured by an assay that comprises introducing the mutant TcBuster transposase and a TcBuster transposon containing a reporter cargo cassette into a population of cells, and detecting transposition of the reporter cargo cassette in the population of cells.
 16. The method of claim 12, wherein the introducing comprises electroporating the cell.
 17. The method of claim 12, wherein the cell comprises a primary cell isolated from a subject.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the subject has a cancer or a tumor.
 19. The method of claim 17, wherein the cell comprises a primary immune cell.
 20. A system for genome editing, comprising: a mutant TcBuster transposase or a polynucleotide encoding the mutant TcBuster transposase, and a transposon recognizable by the mutant TcBuster transposase or the fusion transposase, wherein the mutant TcBuster transposase comprises an amino acid sequence at least 70% identical to full-length SEQ ID NO: 1 and amino acid substitutions V377T, E469K, D189A, K573E, E578L, or any combination thereof, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO:
 1. 21. The system of claim 20, wherein the mutant TcBuster transposase comprises amino acid substitutions V377T, E469K, and D189A, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO:
 1. 22. The system of claim 20, wherein the mutant TcBuster transposase comprises amino acid substitutions K573E and E578L, when numbered in accordance with SEQ ID NO:
 1. 23. The system of claim 20, comprising the polynucleotide encoding the mutant TcBuster transposase or the fusion transposase that is messenger RNA (mRNA).
 24. The system of claim 23, wherein the mRNA is chemically modified.
 25. The system of claim 20, wherein the transposon is present in a mini-circle plasmid.
 26. The system of claim 20, wherein the transposon comprises a cargo cassette positioned between two inverted repeats.
 27. The system of claim 26, wherein a left inverted repeat of the two inverted repeats comprises a sequence having at least 80% identity to SEQ ID NO:
 3. 28. The system of claim 26, wherein a right inverted repeat of the two inverted repeats comprises a sequence having at least at least 80%identity to SEQ ID NO:
 4. 29. The system of claim 26, wherein the cargo cassette is in a reverse direction.
 30. The system of claim 26, wherein the cargo cassette comprises a transgene coding for a cellular receptor selected from the group consisting of: a T cell receptor (TCR), a B cell receptor (BCR), a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR), or any combination thereof. 